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\VRITTEN    DURING    A    SHORT    RESIDENCE    IN    SWEDEN, 
NORWAY,    AND    DENMARK. 


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'S    NATIONAL    LIBRARY. 

BETTERS 

WRITTEN 

DURING   A    SHORT   RESIDENCE 

IN 

SWEDEN,  NORWAY,  AND 
DENMARK. 

BY 

MARY    WOLLSTONECKAFT. 


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at 


INTBODUCTION. 


MARY  WOLLSTONECRAFT  was  born  on  the  27th  of  April, 
1759.  Her  father— a  quick-tempered  and  unsettled  man, 
capable  of  beating  wife,  or  child,  or  dog — was  the  son  of  a 
manufacturer  who  made  money  in  Spitalfields,  when  Spital- 
fields was  prosperous.  Her.  mother  was  a  rigorous  Irish- 
woman, of  the  Dixons  of  /Sally shannon.  Edward  John 
Wollstonecraf  t— of  whose  childpen^  besides  Mary,  the  second 
child,  three  sons  and  two  daughters  lived  to  be  men  and 
women — in  course  of  time  got  rid  *>f  about  ten  thousand 
pounds,  which  had  been  left  him  by  his  father.  He  began 
to  get  rid  of  it  by  farming.  Mary  Wollstonecraft's  first- 
remembered  home  was  in  a  farm  at  Epping.  When  she 
was  five  years  old  the  family  moved  to  another  farm,  by  the 
Chelmsford  Eoad.  When  she  was  between  six  and  seven 
years  old  they  moved  again,  to  the  neighbourhood  of 
Barking.  There  they  remained  three  years  before  the  next 
move,  which  was  to  a  farm  near  Beverley,  in  Yorkshire. 
In  Yorkshire  they  remained  six  years,  and  Mary  Woll- 
stonecraft  had  there  what  education  fell  to  her  lot  between 
the  ages  of  ten  and  sixteen.  Edward  John  Wollstonecraft 
then  gave  up  farming  to  venture  upon  a  commercial  specula- 
tion. This  caused  him  to  live  for  a  year  and  a  half  at 
Queen's  Row,  Hoxton.  His  daughter  Mary  was  then  six- 
teen ;  and  while  at  Hoxton  she  had  her  education  advanced 
by  the  friendly  care  of  a  deformed  clergyman — a  Mr.  Clare — 
who  lived  next  door,  and  stayed  so  much  at  home  that  his 
one  pair  of  shoes  had  lasted  him  for  fourteen  years. 

But  Mary  Wollstonecraft's  chief  friend  at  this  time 
was  an  accomplished  girl  only  two  years  older  than  herself, 
who  maintained  her  father,  mother,  and  family  by  skill  in 
drawing.  Her  name  was  Frances  Blood,  and  she  espe- 
cially, by  her  example  and  direct  instruction,  drew  out  her ' 
young  friend's  powers.  In  1776,  Mary  Wollstonecraft's 
father,  a  rolling  stone,  rolled  into  Wales.  Again  he  was  a 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

farmer.  Next  year  again  he  was  a  Londoner ;  and  Mary 
had  influence  enough  to  persuade  him.  to  choose  a  house  at 
Walworth,  where  she  would  be  near  to  her  friend  Fanny. 
Then,  however,  the  conditions  of  her  home  life  caused  her 
to  be  often  on  the  point  of  going  away  to  earn  a  living  for 
herself.  In  1778,  when  she  was  nineteen,  Mary  Wollstone- 
craft  did  leave  home,  to  take  a  situation  as  companion  with 
a  rich  tradesman's  widow  at  Bath,  of  whom  it  was  said  that 
none  of  her  companions  could  stay  with  her.  Mary 
Wollstonecraft,  nevertheless,  stayed  two  years  with  the 
difficult  widow,  and  made  herself  respected.  Her  mother's 
failing  health  then  caused  Mary  to  return  to  her.  The 
father  was  then  living  at  Enfield,  and  trying  to  save  the 
small  remainder  of  his  means  by  not  venturing  upon  any 
business  at  all.  The  mother  died  after  long  suffering, 
wholly  dependent  on  her  daughter  Mary's  constant  care. 
The  mother's  last  words  were  often  quoted  by  Mary  Woll- 
stonecraft in  her  own  last  years  of  distress — "A  little 
patience,  and  all  will  be  over." 

After  the  mother's  death,  Mary  Wollstonecraft  left  home 
again,  to  live  with  her  friend,  Fanny  Blood,  who  was  at 
Walham  Green.  In  1782  she  went  to  nurse  a  manned  sister 
through  a  dangerous  illness.  The  father's  need  of  support 
next  pressed  upon  her.  He  had  spent  not  only  his  own 
money,  but  also  the  little  that  had  been  specially  reserved 
for  his  children.  It  is  said  to  be  the  privilege  of  a  passionate 
man  that  he  always  gets  what  he  wants;  he  gets  to  be 
avoided,  and  they  never  find  a  convenient  corner  of  their 
own  who  shut  themselves  out  from  the  kindly  fellowship  of 
life. 

In  1783  Mary  Wollstonecraft— aged  twenty-lour— with 
two  of  her  sisters,  joined  Fanny  Blood  in  setting  up  a  day 
school  at  Islington,  which  was  removed  in  a  few  months  to 
Newington  Green.  Early  in  1785  Fanny  Blood,  far  gone 
in  consumption,  sailed  for  Lisbon  to  marry  an  Irish  surgeon 
who  was  settled  there.  After  her  marriage  it  was  evident 
that  she  had  but  a  few  months  to  live ;  Mary  Wollstone- 
craft, deaf  to  all  opposing  counsel,  then  left  her  school,  and, 
with  help  of  money  from  a  friendly  woman,  she  went  out  to 
nurse  her,  and  was  by  her  when  she  died.  Mary  Wollstone- 
craft remembered  her  loss  ten  years  afterwards  in  these 
"Letters  from  Sweden  and  Norway,"  when  she  wrote: 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

"  The  grave  has  closed  over  a  dear  friend,  the  friend  of  my 
youth ;  still  she  is  present  with  me,  and  I  hear  her  soft  voice 
warbling  as  I  stray  over  the  heath." 

Mary  Wollstonecraft  left  Lisbon  for  England  late  in 
December,  1785.  When  she  came  back  she  found  Fanny's 
poor  parents  anxious  to  go  back  to  Ireland  ;  and  as  she  had 
been  often  told  that  she  could  earn  by  writing,  she  wrote  a 
pamphlet  of  162  small  pages—"  Thoughts  on  the  Education 
of  Daughters  " — and  got  ten  pounds  for  it.  This  she  gave 
to  hel-  friend's  parents  to  enable  them  to  go  back  to  their 
kindred.  In  all  she  did  there  is  clear  evidence  of  an  ardent, 
generous,  impulsive  nature.  One  day  her  friend  Fanny 
Blood  had  repined  at  the  unhappy  surroundings  in  the  home 
she  was  maintaining  for  her  father  and  mother,  and  longed 
for  a  little  home  of  her  own  to  do  her  work  in.  Her  friend 
quietly  found  rooms,  got  furniture  together,  and  told  her 
that  her  little  home  was  ready ;  she  had  only  to  walk 
into  it.  Then  it  seemed  strange  to  Mary  Wollstonecraft 
that  Fanny  Blood  was  withheld  by  thoughts  that  had  not 
been  uppermost  in  the  mood  of  complaint.  She  thought 
her  friend  irresolute,  where  she  had  herself  been  generously 
rash.  Her  end  would  have  been  happier  had  she  been 
helped,  as  many  are,  by  that  calm  influence  of  home  in 
which  some  knowledge  of  the  world  passes  from  father  and 
mother  to  son  and  daughter,  without  visible  teaching  and 
preaching,  in  easiest  companionship  of  young  and  old  from 
day  to  day. 

The  little  payment  for  her  pamphlet  on  the  "  Education  of 
Daughters "  caused  Mary  Wollstonecraft  to  think  more 
seriously  of  earning  by  her  pen.  The  pamphlet  seems  also 
to  have  advanced  her  credit  as  a  teacher.  After  giving  up 
her  day  school,  she  spent  some  weeks  at  Eton  with  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Prior,  one  of  the  masters  there,  who  recom- 
mended her  as  governess  to  the  daughters  of  Lord  Kings- 
borough,  an  Irish  viscount,  eldest  son  of  the  Earl  of 
Kingston.  Her  way  of  teaching  was  by  winning  love,  and 
she  obtained  the  warm  affection  of  the  eldest  of  her  pupils, 
who  became  afterwards  Countess  Mount-Cashel.  In  the 
summer  of  1787,  Lord  Kingsborough's  family,  including 
Mary  Wollstonecraft,  was  at  Bristol  Hot-wells,  before 
going  to  the  Continent.  While  there,  Mary  Wollstone- 
craft wrote  her  little  tale  published  as  "  Mary,  a  Fiction," 


INTRODUCTION. 

wherein  there  was  much  based  on  the  memory  of  her  own 
friendship  for  Fanny  Blood. 

The  publisher  of  Mary  Wollstonecraft's  "  Thoughts  on 
the  Education  of  Daughters  "  was  the  same  Joseph  Johnson 
who  in  1785  was  the  publisher  of  Oowper's  "  Task."  With 
her  little  story  written  and  a  little  money  saved,  the  resolve 
to  live  by  her  pen  could  now  be  carried  out.  Mary 
\Vollstonecraft,  therefore,  parted  from  her  friends  at  Bristol, 
went  to  London,  saw  her  publisher,  and  frankly  told  him 
her  determination.  He  met  her  with  fatherly  kindness, 
and  received  her  as  a  guest  in  his  house  while  she  was 
making  her  arrangements.  At  Michaelmas,  1787,  she 
settled  in  a  house  in  George  Street,  on  the  Surrey  side  of 
Blackfriars  Bridge.  There  she  produced  a  little  book  for 
children,  of  "  Original  Stories  from  Real  Life,"  and  earned 
by  drudgery  for  Joseph  Johnson.  She  translated,  she 
abridged,  she  made  a  volume  of  Selections,  and  she  wrote 
for  an  "  Analytical  Review,"  which  Mr.  Johnson  founded 
in  the  middle  of  the  year  1788.  Among  the  books  trans- 
lated by  her  was  Necker  "  On  the  Importance  of  Religious 
Opinions."  Among  the  books  abridged  by  her  was 
S:dzmann's  "  Elements  of  Morality."  With  all  this  hard 
work  she  lived  as  sparely  as  she  could,  that  she  might  help 
her  family.  She  supported  her  father.  That  she  might  enable 
her  sisters  to  earn  their  living  as  teachers,  she  sent  one  of 
them  to  Paris,  and  maintained  her  there  for  two  years  ;  the 
other  she  placed  in  a  school  near  London  as  parlour-boarder 
until  she  was  admitted  into  it  as  a  paid  teacher.  She  placed 
one  brother  at  Woolwich  to  qualify  for  the  Navy,  and  he 
obtained  a  lieutenant's  commission.  For  another  brother, 
articled  to  an  attorney  whom  he  did  not  like,  she  obtained 
a  transfer  of  indentures ;  and  when  it  became  clear  that  his 
quarrel  was  more  with  law  than  with  the  lawyers,  she  placed 
him  with  a  farmer  before  fitting  him  out  for  emigration  to 
America.  She  then  sent  him,  so  well  prepared  for  his  work 
there  that  he  prospered  well.  She  tried  even  to  disentangle 
her  father's  affairs  ;  but  the  confusion  in  them  was  beyond 
her  powers  of  arrangement.  Added  to  all  this  faithful  work, 
she  took  upon  herself  the  charge  of  an  orphan  child,  seven 
years  old,  whose  mother  had  been  in  the  number  of  her 
friends.  That  was  the  life  of  Mary  Wollstonecraft,  thirty 
years  old,  in  1 789,  the  year  of  the  Fall  of  the  Bastille ;  the 


INTRODUCTION,  9 

noble  life  now  to  be  touched  in  its  enthusiasms  by  tbe  spirit 
of  the  Revolution,  to  be  caught  in  the  great  storm,  shattered, 
and  lost  among  its  wrecks. 

To  Burke's  attack  on  the  French  Revolution  Mary 
Wollstonecraft  wrote  an  Answer— one  of  many  answers  pro- 
voked by  it — that  attracted  much  attention.  This  was 
followed  by  her  "  Vindication  of  the  Rights  of  Woman," 
while  the  air  was  full  of  declamation  on  the  "  Rights  of 
Man."  The  claims  made  in  this  little  book  were  in  advance 
of  the  opinion  of  that  day,  but  they  are  claims  that  have  in 
our  day  been  conceded.  They  are  certainly  not  revolu- 
tionary in  the  opinion  of  the  world  tbat  has  become  a 
hundred  years  older  since  the  book  was  written. 

At  this  time  Mary  Wollstonecraft  had  moved  to  rooms  in 
Store  Street,  Bedford  Square.  She  was  fascinated  by  Fuseli 
the  painter,  and  he  was  a  married  man.  She  felt  herself  to 
be  too  strongly  drawn  towards  him,  and  she  went  to  Paris 
at  the  close  of  the  year  1792,  to  break  the  spell.  She  felt 
lonely  and  sad,  and  was  not  the  happier  for  being  in  a 
mansion  lent  to  her,  from  which  the  owner  was  away,  and 
in  which  she  lived  surrounded  by  his  servants.  Strong 
womanly  instincts  were  astir  within  her,  and  they  were  not 
all  wise  folk  who  had  been  drawn  around  her  by  her 
generous  enthusiasm  for  the  new  hopes  of  the  world,  that 
made  it  then,  as  Wordsworth  felt,  a  very  heaven  to  the 
young. 

Four  months  after  she  had  gone  to  Paris,  Mary  Woll- 
stonecraft met  at  the  house  of  a  merchant,  with  whose  wife 
she  had  become  intimate,  an  American  named  Gilbert 
Imlay.  He  won  her  affections.  That  was  in  April,  1793. 
He  had  no  means,  and  she  had  home  embarrassments,  for 
which  she  was  unwilling  that  he  should  become  in  any  way 
responsible.  A  part  of  the  new  dream  in  some  minds  then 
was  of  a  love  too  pure  to  need  or  bear  the  bondage  of 
authority.  The  mere  forced  union  of  marriage  ties  im- 
plied, it  was  said,  a  distrust  of  fidelity.  When  Gilbert 
Imlay  would  have  married  Mary  Wollstonecraft,  she  her- 
self refused  to  bind  him ;  she  would  keep  him  legally  exempt 
from  her  responsibilities  towards  the  father,  sisters,  brothers, 
whom  she  was  supporting.  She  took  his  name  and  called 
herself  his  wife,  when  the  French  Convention,  indignant 
at  the  conduct  pf  the  British  Government,  issued  a  decree 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

from  the  effects  of  which  she  would  escape  as  the  wife  of  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States.  But  she  did  not  marry.  She 
witnessed  many  of  the  horrors  that  came  of  the  loosened 
passions  of  an  untaught  populace.  A  child  was  born  to 
her — a  girl  whom  she  named  after  the  dead  friend  of  her 
own  girlhood.  And  then  she  found  that  she  had  leant  upon 
a  reed.  She  was  neglected;  and  was  at  last  forsaken. 
Having  sent  her  to  London,  Imlay  there  visited  her,  to 
explain  himself  away.  She  resolved  on  suicide,  and  in  dis- 
suading her  from  that  he  gave  her  hope  again.  He  needed 
somebody  who  had  good  judgment,  and  who  cared  for  his 
interests,  to  represent  him  in  some  business  affairs  in  Nor- 
way. She  undertook  to  act  for  him,  and  set  out  on  the 
voyage  only  a  week  after  she  had  determined  to  destroy 
herself. 

The  interest  of  this  book  which  describes  her  travel  is 
quickened  by  a  knowledge  of  the  heart-sorrow  that  underlies 
it  all.  Gilbert  Imlay  had  promised  to  meet  her  upon  her 
return,  and  go  with  her  to  Switzerland.  But  the  letters  she 
had  from  him  in  Sweden  and  Norway  were  cold,  and  she 
came  back  to  find  that  she  was  wholly  forsaken  for  an  actress 
from  a  strolling  company  of  players.  Then  she  went  up 
the  river  to  drown  herself.  She  paced  the  road  at  Putney 
on  an  October  night,  in  1795,  in  heavy  rain,  until  her  clothes 
were  drenched,  that  she  might  sink  more  surely,  and  then 
threw  herself  from  the  top  of  Putney  Bridge. 

She  was  rescued,  and  lived  on  with  deadened  spirit.  In  1 796 
these  "  Letters  from  Sweden  and  Norway  "  were  published. 
Early  in  1797  she  was  married  to  William  Godwin.  On  the 
10th  of  September  in  the  same  year,  at  the  ago  of  thirty-eight, 
Mary  Wollstonecraft  Godwin  died,  after  the  birth  of  the 
daughter  who  lived  to  become  the  wife  of  Shelley.  The 
mother  also  would  have  lived,  if  a  womanly  feeling,  in 
itself  to  be  respected,  had  not  led  her  also  to  unwise 
departure  from  the  customs  of  the  world.  Peace  be  to  her 
memory.  None  but  kind  thoughts  can  dwell  upon  the  life 
of  this  too  faithful  disciple  of  Kousseau. 

H.  M. 


LETTEES 

WRITTEN    DURING   A   SHORT     RESIDENCE    IN   SWEDEN, 
NORWAY,    AND    DENMARK. 


LETTER  I. 

ELEVEN  days  of  weariness  on  board  a  vessel  not  in- 
tended for  the  accommodation  of  passengers  have  so 
exhausted  my  spirits,  to  say  nothing  of  the  other  causes, 
with  which  you  are  already  sufficiently  acquainted,  that 
it  is  with  some  difficulty  I  adhere  to  my  determination 
of  giving  you  my  observations,  as  I  travel  through  new 
scenes,  whilst  warmed  with  the  impression  they  have 
made  on  me. 

The  captain,  as  I  mentioned  to  you,  promised  to  put 
me  011  shore  at  Arendall  or  Gothenburg  in  his  way  to 
Elsineur,  but  contrary  winds  obliged  us  to  pass  both 
places  during  the  night.  In  the  morning,  however, 
after  we  had  lost  sight  of  the  entrance  of  the  latter 
bay,  the  vessel  was  becalmed;  and  the  captain,  to 
oblige  me,  hanging  out  a  signal  for  a  pilot,  bore  down 
towards  the  shore. 

My  attention  was  particularly  directed  to  the  light- 
house, and  you  can  scarcely  imagine  with  what 
anxiety  I  watched  two  long  hours  for  a  boat  to  eman- 
cipate me ;  still  no  one  appeared.  Every  cloud  that 
flitted  on  the  horizon  was  hailed  as  a  liberator,  till 


12  LETTERS   ON    SWEDEN, 

approaching  nearer,  like  most  of  the  prospects  sketched 
by  hope,  it  dissolved  under  the  eye  into  disappointment. 

Weary  of  expectation,  I  then  began  to  converse  with 
the  captain  on  the  subject,  and  from  the  tenor  of  the 
information  my  questions  drew  forth  I  soon  concluded 
that  if  I  waited  for  a  boat  I  had  little  chance  of  getting 
on  shore  at  this  place.  Despotism,  as  is  usually  the 
case,  I  found  had  here  cramped  the  industry  of  man. 
The  pilots  being  paid  by  the  king,  and  scantily,  they 
will  not  run  into  any  danger,  or  even  quit  their  hovels, 
if  they  can  possibly  avoid  it,  only  to  fulfil  what  is 
termed  their  duty.  How  different  is  it  on  the  English 
coast,  where,  in  the  most  stormy  weather,  boats  imme- 
diately hail  you,  brought  out  by  the  expectation  of 
extraordinary  profit. 

Disliking  to  sail  for  Elsineur,  and  still  more  to  lie 
at  anchor  or  cruise  about  the  coast  for  several  days,  I 
exerted  all  my  rhetoric  to  prevail  on  the  captain  to  let 
me  have  the  ship's  boat,  and  though  I  added  the  most 
forcible  of  arguments,  I  for  a  long  time  addressed  him 
in  vain. 

It  is  a  kind  of  rule  at  sea  not  to  send  out  a  boat. 
The  captain  was  a  good-natured  man;  but  men  with 
common  minds  seldom  break  through  general  rules. 
Prudence  is  ever  the  resort  of  weakness,  and  they 
rarely  go  as  far  as  they  may  in  any  undertaking  who 
are  determined  not  to  go  beyond  it  on  any  account.  If, 
however,  I  had  some  trouble  with  the  captain,  I  did  not 
lose  much  time  with  the  sailors,  for  they,  all  alacrity, 
hoisted  out  the  boat  the  moment  I  obtained  permission, 
and  promised  to  row  me  to  the  lighthouse. 


NORWAY,   AND    DENMARK.  13 

I  did  not  once  allow  myself  to  doubt  of  obtaining  a 
conveyance  from  thence  round  the  rocks — and  then 
away  for  Gothenburg — confinement  is  so  unpleasant. 

The  day  was  fine,  and  I  enjoyed  the  water  till, 
approaching  the  little  island,  poor  Marguerite,  whose 
timidity  always  acts  as  a  feeler  before  her  adventuring 
spirit,  began  to  wonder  at  our  not  seeing  any  inhabit- 
ants. I  did  not  listen  to  her.  But  when,  on  landing, 
the  same  silence  prevailed,  I  caught  the  alarm,  which 
was  not  lessened  by  the  sight  of  two  old  men  whom  we 
forced  out  of  their  wretched  hut.  Scarcely  human  in 
their  appearance,  we  with  difficulty  obtained  an  intel- 
ligible reply  to  our  questions,  the  result  of  which  was 
that  they  had  no  boat,  and  were  not  allowed  to  quit 
their  post  on  any  pretence.  But  they  informed  us  that 
there  was  at  the  other  side,  eight  or  ten  miles  over,  a 
pilot's  dwelling.  Two  guineas  tempted  the  sailors  to 
risk  the  captain's  displeasure,  and  once  more  embark 
to  row  me  over. 

The  weather  was  pleasant,  and  the  appearance  of  the 
shore  so  grand  that  I  should  have  enjoyed  the  two 
hours  it  took  to  reach  it,  but  for  the  fatigue  which  was 
too  visible  in  the  countenances  of  the  sailors,  who,  in- 
stead of  uttering  a  complaint,  were,  with  the  thought- 
less hilarity  peculiar  to  them,  joking  about  the  possi- 
bility of  the  captain's  taking  advantage  of  a  slight 
westerly  breeze,  which  was  springing  up,  to  sail  with- 
out them.  Yet,  in  spite  of  their  good  humour,  I  could 
not  help  growing  uneasy  when  the  shore,  receding,  as 
it  were,  as  we  advanced,  seemed  to  promise  no  end  to 
their  toil.  This  anxiety  increased  when,  turning  into 


14  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN. 

the  most  picturesque  bay  I  ever  saw,  my  eyes  sought 
in  vain  for  the  vestige  of  a  human  habitation.  Before 
I  could  determine  what  step  to  take  in  such  a  dilemma 
(for  I  could  not  bear  to  think  of  returning  to  the  ship), 
the  sight  of  a  barge  relieved  me,  and  we  hastened  to- 
wards it  for  information.  We  were  immediately  di- 
rected to  pass  some  jutting  rocks,  when  we  should  see 
a  pilot's  hut. 

There  was  a  solemn  silence  in  this  scene  which  made 
itself  be  felt.  The  sunbeams  that  played  on  the  ocean, 
scarcely  ruffled  by  the  lightest  breeze,  contrasted  with 
the  huge  dark  rocks,  that  looked  like  the  rude  materials 
of  creation  forming  the  barrier  of  unwrought  space, 
forcibly  struck  me,  but  I  should  not  have  been  sorry 
if  the  cottage  had  not  appeared  equally  tranquil.  Ap- 
proaching a  retreat  where  strangers,  especially  women, 
so  seldom  appeared,  I  wondered  that  curiosity  did  not 
bring  the  beings  who  inhabited  it  to  the  windows  or 
door.  I  did  not  immediately  recollect  that  men  who 
remain  so  near  the  brute  creation,  as  only  to  exert 
themselves  to  find  the  food  necessary  to  sustain  life, 
have  little  or  no  imagination  to  call  forth  the  curi- 
osity necessary  to  fructify  the  faint  glimmerings  of 
mind  which  entitle  them  to  rank  as  lords  of  the  crea- 
tion. Had  they  either  they  could  not  contentedly 
remain  rooted  in  the  clods  they  so  indolently  cultivate. 

Whilst  the  sailors  went  to  seek  for  the  sluggish  in- 
habitants, these  conclusions  occurred  to  me ;  and,  re- 
collecting the  extreme  fondness  which  the  Parisians 
ever  testify  for  novelty,  their  very  curiosity  appeared 
to  me  a  proof  of  the  progress  they  had  made  in 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  15 

refinement.  Yes,  in  the  art  of  living — in  the  art  of  es- 
caping from  the  cares  which  embarrass  the  first  steps 
towards  the  attainment  of  the  pleasures  of  social  life. 

The  pilots  informed  the  sailors  that  they  were  under 
the  direction  of  a  lieutenant  retired  from  the  service, 
who  spoke  English ;  adding  that  they  could  do  nothing 
without  his  orders,  and  even  the  offer  of  money  could 
hardly  conquer  their  laziness  and  prevail  on  them  to 
accompany  us  to  his  dwelling.  They  would  not  go 
with  me  alone,  which  I  wanted  them  to  have  done, 
because  I  wished  to  dismiss  the  sailors  as  soon  as 
possible.  Once  more  we  rowed  off,  they  following 
tardily,  till,  turning  round  another  bold  protuberance 
of  the  rocks,  we  saw  a  boat  making  towards  us,  and 
soon  learnt  that  it  was  the  lieutenant  himself,  coming 
with  some  earnestness  to  see  who  we  were. 

To  save  the  sailors  any  further  toil,  I  had  my  baggage 
instantly  removed  into  his  boat ;  for,  as  he  could  speak 
English,  a  previous  parley  was  not  necessary,  though 
Marguerite's  respect  for  me  could  hardly  keep  her 
from  expressing  the  fear,  strongly  marked  on  her 
countenance,  which  my  putting  ourselves  into  the 
power  of  a  strange  man  excited.  He  pointed  out  his 
cottage  ;  and,  drawing  near  to  it,  I  was  not  sorry  to 
see  a  female  figure,  though  I  had  not,  like  Marguerite, 
been  thinking  of  robberies,  murders,  or  the  other  evil 
which  instantly,  as  the  sailors  would  have  said,  runs 
foul  of  a  woman's  imagination. 

On  entering  I  was  still  better  pleased  to  find  a  clean 
house,  with  some  degree  of  rural  elegance.  The  beds 
were  of  muslin,  coarse  it  is  true,  but  dazzlingly  white ; 


1C  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

and  the  floor  was  strewed  ovor  with  little  sprigs  of 
juniper  (the  custom,  as  I  afterwards  found,  of  the 
country),  which  formed  a  contrast  with  the  curtains, 
and  produced  an  agreeable  sensation  of  freshness,  to 
soften  the  ardour  of  noon.  Still  nothing  was  so  pleas- 
ing as  the  alacrity  of  hospitality — all  that  the  house 
afforded  was  quickly  spread  on  the  whitest  linen. 
Remember,  I  had  just  left  the  vessel,  where,  without 
being  fastidious,  I  had  continually  been  disgusted. 
Fish,  milk,  butter,  and  cheese,  and,  I  ain  sorry  to  add, 
brandy,  the  bane  of  this  country,  were  spread  on  the 
board.  After  we  had  dined  hospitality  made  them, 
with  some  degree  of  mystery,  bring  us  some  excellent 
coffee.  I  did  not  then  know  that  it  was  prohibited. 

The  good  man  of  the  house  apologised  for  coining  in 
continually,  but  declared  that  he  was  so  glad  to  speak 
English  he  could  not  stay  out.  He  need  not  have 
apologised ;  I  was  equally  glad  of  his  company.  With 
the  wife  I  could  only  exchange  smiles,  and  she  was  em- 
ployed observing  the  make  of  our  clothes.  My  hands, 
I  f  jnnd,  had  first  led  her  to  discover  that  I  was  the 
lady.  I  had,  of  course,  my  quantum  of  reverences; 
for  the  politeness  of  the  north  seems  to  partake  of  the 
coldness  of  the  climate  and  the  rigidity  of  its  iron- 
sinewed  rocks.  Amongst  the  peasantry  there  is,  how- 
ever, so  much  of  the  simplicity  of  the  golden  ago  in 
this  land  of  flint — so  much  overflowing  of  heart  and 
fellow-feeling,  that  only  benevolence  and  the  honest 
sympathy  of  nature  diffused  smiles  over  my  counten- 
ance when  they  kept  me  standing,  regardless  of  my 
fatigue,  whilst  they  dropped  courtesy  after  courtesy. 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  17 

The  situation  of  this  house  was  beautiful,  thoug'i 
chosen  for  convenience.  The  master  being  the  officer 
who  commanded  all  the  pilots  on  the  coast,  and  the 
person  appointed  to  guard  wrecks,  it  was  necessary  for 
him  to  fix  on  a  spot  that  would  overlook  the  whole  bay. 
As  he  had  seen  some  service,  he  wore,  not  without  a 
pride  I  thought  becoming,  a  badge  to  prove  that  he  had 
merited  well  of  his  country.  It  was  happy,  I  thought, 
that  he  had  been  paid  in  honour,  for  the  stipend  he  re- 
ceived was  little  more  than  twelve  pounds  a  year.  I 
do  not  trouble  myself  or  you  with  the  calculation  of 
Swedish  ducats.  Thus,  my  friend,  you  perceive  the 
necessity  of  perquisites.  This  same  narrow  policy  runs 
through  everything.  I  shall  have  occasion  further  to 
animadvert  on  it. 

Though  my  host  amused  me  with  an  account  of  him- 
self, which  gave  me  an  idea  of  the  manners  of  the 
people  I  was  about  to  visit,  I  was  eager  to  climb  the 
rocks  to  view  the  country,  and  see  whether  the  honest 
tars  had  regained  their  ship.  With  the  help  of  the 
lieutenant's  telescope,  I  saw  the  vessel  under  way  with 
a  fair  though  gentle  gale.  The  sea  was  calm,  playful 
even  as  the  most  shallow  stream,  and  on  the  vast  basin 
I  did  not  see  a  dark  speck  to  indicate  the  boat.  My 
conductors  were  consequently  arrived. 

Straying  further,  my  eye  was  attracted  by  the  sight 
of  some  heartsease  that  peeped  through  the  rocks.  I 
caught  at  it  as  a  good  omen,  and  going  to  preserve  it 
in  a  letter  that  had  not  conveyed  balm  to  my  heart,  a 
cruel  remembrance  suffused  my  eyes;  but  it  passed 
away  like  an  April  shower.  If  you  arc  deep  read  in 


18  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

Shakespeare,  you  will  recollect  that  this  was  the  little 
western  flower  tinged  by  love's  dart,  which  ''  maidens 
call  love  in  idleness."  The  gaiety  of  my  babe  was  un- 
mixed ;  regardless  of  omens  or  sentiments,  she  found  a 
few  wild  strawberries  more  grateful  than  flowers  or 
fancies. 

The  lieutenant  informed  me  that  this  was  a  com- 
modious bay.  Of  that  I  could  not  judge,  though  I 
felt  its  picturesque  beauty.  Rocks  were  piled  on 
rocks,  forming  a  suitable  bulwark  to  the  ocean. 
"  Come  no  further,"  they  emphatically  said,  turn- 
ing their  dark  sides  to  the  waves  to  augment  the 
idle  roar.  The  view  was  sterile;  still  little  patches 
of  earth  of  the  most  exquisite  verdure,  enamelled  with 
the  sweetest  wild  flowers,  seemed  to  promise  the  goats 
and  a  few  straggling  cows  luxurious  herbage.  How 
silent  and  peaceful  was  the  scene  !  I  gazed  around  with 
rapture,  and  felt  more  of  that  spontaneous  pleasure 
which  gives  credibility  to  our  expectation  of  happiness 
than  I  had  for  a  long,  long  time  before.  I  forgot  the 
horrors  I  had  witnessed  in  France,  which  had  cast  a 
gloom  over  all  nature,  and  suffering  the  enthusiasm  of 
my  character — too  often,  gracious  God !  damped  by  the 
tears  of  disappointed  affection — to  be  lighted  up  afresh, 
care  took  wing  while  simple  fellow-feeling  expanded 
my  heart. 

To  prolong  this  enjoyment,  I  readily  assented  to  the 
proposal  of  our  host  to  pay  a  visit  to  a  family,  the 
master  of  which  spoke  English,  who  was  the  drollest 
dog  in  the  country,  he  added,  repeating  some  of  his 
stories  with  a  hearty  laugh. 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  19 

I  walked  on,  still  delighted  with  the  rude  beauties 
of  the  scene ;  for  the  sublime  often  gave  place  im- 
perceptibly to  the  beautiful,  dilating  the  emotions 
which  were  painfully  concentrated. 

When  we  entered  this  abode,  the  largest  I  had  yet 
seen,  I  was  introduced  to  a  numerous  family;  but  the 
father,  from  whom  I  was  led  to  expect  so  much  enter- 
tainment, was  absent.  The  lieutenant  consequently 
was  obliged  to  be  the  interpreter  of  our  reciprocal 
compliments.  The  phrases  were  awkwardly  trans- 
mitted, it  is  true ;  but  looks  and  gestures  were  suffi- 
cient to  make  them  intelligible  and  interesting.  The 
girls  were  all  vivacity,  and  respect  for  me  could 
scarcely  keep  them  from  romping  with  my  host, 
who,  asking  for  a  pinch  of  snuff,  was  presented  with 
a  box,  out  of  which  an  artificial  mouse,  fastened  to  the 
bottom,  sprang.  Though  this  trick  had  doubtless  been 
played  time  out  of  mind,  yet  the  laughter  it  excited 
was  not  less  genuine. 

They  were  overflowing  with  civility ;  but,  to  prevent 
their  almost  killing  my  babe  with  kindness,  I  was 
obliged  to  shorten  my  visit ;  and  two  or  three  of  the 
girls  accompanied  us,  bringing  with  them  a  part  of 
whatever  the  house  afforded  to  contribute  towards 
rendering  my  supper  more  plentiful ;  and  plentiful  in 
fact  it  was,  though  I  with  difficulty  did  honour  to  some 
of  the  dishes,  not  relishing  the  quantity  of  sugar  and 
spices  put  into  everything.  At  supper  my  host  told 
me  bluntly  that  I  was  a  woman  of  observation,  for  I 
asked  him  men's  questions. 

The  arrangements  for  my  journey  were  quickly  made. 


20  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

I  could  only  have  a  car  with  post-horses,  as  I  did  not, 
choose  to  wait  till  a  carriage  could  be  sent  for  to 
Gothenburg.  The  expense  of  my  journey  (about  one 
or  two  and  twenty  English  miles)  I  found  would  not 
amount  to  more  than  eleven  or  twelve  shillings,  paying, 
he  assured  me,  generously.  I  gave  him  a  guinea  and 
a  half.  But  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  I 
could  make  him  take  so  much— indeed  anything — for 
my  lodging  and  fare.  He  declared  that  it  was  next  to 
robbing  me,  explaining  how  much  I  ought  to  pay  on 
the  road.  However,  as  I  was  positive,  he  took  the 
guinea  for  himself ;  but,  as  a  condition,  insisted  on 
accompanying  me,  to  prevent  my  meeting  with  any 
trouble  or  imposition  on  the  way. 

I  then  retired  to  my  apartment  with  regret.  The 
night  was  so  fine  that  I  would  gladly  have  rambled 
about  much  longer,  yet,  recollecting  that  I  must  rise 
very  early,  I  reluctantly  went  to  bed ;  but  my  senses 
had  been  so  awake,  and  my  imagination  still  continued 
so  busy,  that  I  sought  for  rest  in  vain.  Rising  before 
six,  I  scented  the  sweet  morning  air ;  I  had  long  before 
heard  the  birds  twittering  to  hail  the  dawning  day, 
though  it  could  scarcely  have  been  allowed  to  have 
departed. 

Nothing,  in  fact,  can  equal  the  beauty  of  the  northern 
summer's  evening  and  night,  if  night  it  may  be  called 
that  only  wants  the  glare  of  day,  the  full  light  which 
frequently  seems  so  impertinent,  for  I  could  write  at 
midnight  very  well  without  a  candle.  I  contemplated 
all  Nature  at  rest;  the  rocks,  even  grown  darker  in 
their  appearance,  looked  as  if  they  partook  of  the 


NORWAY.   AND    DENMARK.  21 

general  repose,  and  reclined  more  heavily  on  their 
foundation.  "What,"  I  exclaimed,  "is  this  active 
principle  which  keeps  me  still  awake  P  Why  fly  my 
thoughts  abroad,  when  everything  around  me  appears 
at  home  ?  "  My  child  was  sleeping  with  equal  calm- 
ness— innocent  and  sweet  as  the  closing  flowers.  Some 
recollections,  attached  to  the  idea  of  home,  mingled 
with  reflections  respecting  the  state  of  society  I  had 
been  contemplating  that  evening,  made  a  tear  drop  on 
the  rosy  cheek  I  had  just  kissed,  and  emotions  that 
trembled  on  the  brink  of  ecstasy  and  agony  gave  a 
poignancy  to  my  sensations  which  made  me  feel  more 
alive  than  usual. 

What  are  these  imperious  sympathies  ?  How  fre- 
quently has  melancholy  and  even  misanthropy  taken 
possession  of  me,  when  the  world  has  disgusted  me, 
and  friends  have  proved  unkind.  I  have  then  con- 
sidered myself  as  a  particle  broken  off  from  the  grand 
mass  of  mankind ;  I  was  alone,  till  some  involuntary 
sympathetic  emotion,  like  the  attraction  of  adhesion, 
made  me  feel  that  I  was  still  a  part  of  a  mighty  whole, 
from  which  I  could  not  sever  myself — not,  perhaps, 
for  the  reflection  has  been  carried  very  far,  by  snap- 
ping the  thread  of  an  existence,  which  loses  its  charms 
in  proportion  as  the  cruel  experience  of  life  stops  or 
poisons  the  current  of  the  heart.  Futurity,  what  hast 
thou  not  to  give  to  those  who  know  that  there  is  such 
a  thing  as  happiness!  I  speak  not  of  philosophical 
contentment,  though  pain  has  afforded  them  the 
strongest  conviction  of  it. 

After  our  coffee  and  milk — for  the  mistress  of  the 


22  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

house  had  been  roused  long  before  us  by  her  hospitality 
— my  baggage  was  taken  forward  in  a  boat  by  my 
host,  because  the  car  could  not  safely  have  been  brought 
to  the  house. 

The  road  at  first  was  very  rocky  and  troublesome, 
but  our  driver  was  careful,  and  the  horses  accustomed 
to  the  frequent  and  sudden  acclivities  and  descents; 
so  that,  not  apprehending  any  danger,  I  played  with 
my  girl,  whom  I  would  not  leave  to  Marguerite's  care, 
on  account  of  her  timidity. 

Stopping  at  a  little  inn  to  bait  the  horses,  I  saw  the 
first  countenance  in  Sweden  that  displeased  me,  though 
the  man  was  better  dressed  than  any  one  who  had  as 
yet  fallen  in  my  way.  An  altercation  took  place  be- 
tween him  and  my  host,  the  purport  of  which  I  could 
not  guess,  excepting  that  I  was  the  occasion  of  it,  be 
it  what  it  would.  The  sequel  was  his  leaving  the 
house  angrily ;  and  I  was  immediately  informed  that 
he  was  the  custom-house  officer.  The  professional  had 
indeed  effaced  the  national  character,  for,  living  as  he 
did  with  these  frank  hospitable  people,  still  only  the 
exciseman  appeared,  the  counterpart  of  some  I  had  met 
with  in  England  and  France.  I  was  unprovided  with 
a  passport,  not  having  entered  any  great  town.  At 
Gothenburg  I  knew  I  could  immediately  obtain  one, 
and  only  the  trouble  made  me  object  to  the  searching 
my  trunks.  He  blustered  for  money;  but  the  lieu- 
tenant was  determined  to  guard  me,  according  to 
promise,  from  imposition. 

To  avoid  being  interrogated  at  the  town-gate,  and 
obliged  to  go  in  the  rain  to  give  an  account  of  myself 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  23 

(merely  a  form)  before  we  could  get  the  refreshment 
we  stood  in  need  of,  he  requested  us  to  descend — I 
might  have  said  step — from  our  car,  and  walk  into 
town. 

I  expected  to  have  found  a  tolerable  inn,  but  was 
ushered  into  a  most  comfortless  one ;  and,  because  it 
was  about  five  o'clock,  three  or  four  hours  after  their 
dining  hour,  I  could  not  prevail  on  them  to  give  me 
anything  warm  to  eat. 

The  appearance  of  the  accommodations  obliged  me 
to  deliver  one  of  my  recommendatory  letters,  and  the 
gentleman  to  whom  it  was  addressed  sent  to  look  out 
for  a  lodging  for  me  whilst  I  partook  of  his  supper. 
As  nothing  passed  at  this  supper  to  characterise  the 
country,  I  shall  here  close  my  letter. 

Yours  truly. 


LETTER  II. 

GOTHENBURG  is  a  clean  airy  town,  and,  having  been 
built  by  the  Dutch,  has  canals  running  through  each 
street ;  and  in  some  of  them  there  are  rows  of  trees 
that  would  render  it  very  pleasant  were  it  not  for  the 
pavement,  which  is  intolerably  bad. 

There  are  several  rich  commercial  houses — Scotch, 
French,  and  Swedish ;  but  the  Scotch,  I  believe,  have 
been  the  most  successful.  The  commerce  and  com- 
mission business  with  France  since  the  war  has  been 
very  lucrative,  and  enriched  the  merchants  I  am 


24  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

afraid  at   the    expense    of  the    other   inhabitants,  by 
raising  the  price  of  the  necessaries  of  life. 

As  all  the  men  of  consequence — I  mean  men  of  the 
largest  fortune — are  merchants,  their  principal  enjoy- 
ment is  a  relaxation  from  business  at  the  table,  which 
is  spread  at,  I  think,  too  early  an  hour  (between  one 
and  two)  for  men  who  have  letters  to  write  and  ac- 
counts to  settle  after  paying  due  respect  to  the  bottle. 
However,  when  numerous  circles  are  to  be  brought 
together,  and  when  neither  literature  nor  public  amuse- 
ments furnish  topics  for  conversation,  a  good  dinner 
appears  to  be  the  only  centre  to  rally  round,  especially 
as  scandal,  the  zest  of  more  select  parties,  can  only  be 
whispered.  As  for  politics,  I  have  seldom  found  it  a 
subject  of  continual  discussion  in  a  country  town  in 
any  part  of  the  world.  The  politics  of  the  place,  being 
on  a  smaller  scale,  suits  better  with  the  size  oj|  their 
faculties  ;  for,  generally  speaking,  the  sphere  of  on^ujB 
vation  determines  the  extent  of  the  mind. 

The  more  I  see  of  the  world,  the  more  I  am  con- 
vinced that  civilisation  is  a  blessing  not  sufficiently 
estimated  by  those  who  have  not  traced  its  progress ; 
for  it  not  only  refines  our  enjoyments,  but  produces  a 
variety  which  enables  us  to  retain  the  primitive  delicacy 
of  our  sensations.  Without  the  aid  of  the  imagination 
all  the  pleasures  of  the  senses  must  sink  into  grossness, 
unless  continual  novelty  serve  as  a  substitute  for  the 
imagination,  which,  being  impossible,  it  was  to  this 
weariness,  I  suppose,  that  Solomon  alluded  when  he 
declared  that  there  was  nothing  new  under  the  sun ! — 
nothing  for  the  common  sensations  excited  by  tlio 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  25 

senses.  Yet  who  will  deny  that  the  imagination  and 
understanding  have  made  many,  very  many  discoveries 
since  those  days,  which  only  seem  harbingers  of  others 
still  more  noble  and  beneficial  ?  I  never  met  with 
much  imagination  amongst  people  who  had  not  acquired 
a  habit  of  reflection ;  and  in  that  state  of  society  in 
which  the  judgment  and  taste  are  not  called  forth,  and 
formed  by  the  cultivation  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  little 
of  that  delicacy  of  feeling  and  thinking  is  to  be  found 
characterised  by  the  word  sentiment.  The  want  of 
scientific  pursuits  perhaps  accounts  for  the  hospitality, 
as  well  as  for  the  cordial  reception  which  strangers 
receive  from  the  inhabitants  of  small  towns. 

Hospitality  has,  I  think,  been  too  much  praised  by 
travellers  as  a  proof  of  goodness  of  heart,  when,  in  my 
opinion,  indiscriminate  hospitality  is  rather  a  criterion 
by  which  you  may  form  a  tolerable  estimate  of  the 
indolence  or  vacancy  of  a  head ;  or,  in  other  words,  a 
fondness  for  social  pleasures  in  which  the  mind  not 
having  its  proportion  of  exercise,  the  bottle  must  be 
pushed  about. 

These  remarks  are  equally  applicable  to  Dublin,  the 
most  hospitable  city  I  ever  passed  through.  But  I 
will  try  to  confine  my  observations  more  particularly 
to  Sweden. 

It  is  true  I  have  only  had  a  glance  over  a  small  part 
of  it ;  yet  of  its  present  state  of  manners  and  acquire- 
ments I  think  I  have  formed  a  distinct  idea,  without 
having  visited  the  capital — where,  in  fact,  less  of  a 
national  character  is  to  be  found  than  in  the  remote 
parts  of  the  country. 


26  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

The  Swedes  pique  themselves  on  their  politeness; 
but  far  from  being  the  polish  of  a  cultivated  mind,  it 
consists  merely  of  tiresome  forms  and  ceremonies.  So 
far,  indeed,  from  entering  immediately  into  your 
character,  and  making  you  feel  instantly  at  your  ease, 
like  the  well-bred  French,  their  over-acted  civility  is 
a  continual  restraint  on  all  your  actions.  The  sort  of 
superiority  which  a  fortune  gives  when  there  is  no 
superiority  of  education,  excepting  what  consists  in  the 
observance  of  senseless  forms,  has  a  contrary  effect 
than  what  is  intended  ;  so  that  I  could  not  help  reckon- 
ing the  peasantry  the  politest  people  of  Sweden,  who, 
only  aiming  at  pleasing  you,  never  think  of  being 
admired  for  their  behaviour. 

Their  tables,  like  their  compliments,  seem  equally 
a  caricature  of  the  French.  The  dishes  are  composed, 
as  well  as  theirs,  of  a  variety  of  mixtures  to  destroy 
the  native  taste  of  the  food  without  being  as  relishing. 
Spices  and  sugar  are  put  into  everything,  even  into 
the  bread ;  and  the  only  way  I  can  account  for  their 
partiality  to  high-seasoned  dishes  is  the  constant  use 
of  salted  provisions.  Necessity  obliges  them  to  lay  up 
a  store  of  dried  fish  and  salted  meat  for  the  winter ; 
and  in  summer,  fresh  meat  and  fish  taste  insipid  after 
them.  To  which  may  be  added  the  constant  use  of 
spirits.  Every  day,  before  dinner  and  supper,  even 
whilst  the  dishes  are  cooling  on  the  table,  men  and 
women  repair  to  a  side-table ;  and  to  obtain  an  appe- 
tite eat  bread-and-butter,  cheese,  raw  salmon,  or  an- 
chovies, drinking  a  glass  of  brandy.  Salt  fish  or  meat 
then  immediately  follows,  to  give  a  further  whet  to 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  27 

the  stomach.  As  the  dinner  advances,  pardon  me  for 
taking  up  a  few  minutes  to  describe  what,  alas  !  lias 
detained  me  two  or  three  hours  on  the  stretch  observ- 
ing, dish  after  dish  is  changed,  in  endless  rotation, 
and  handed  round  with  solemn  pace  to  each  guest ;  but 
should  you  happen  not  to  like  the  first  dishes,  which 
was  often  my  case,  it  is  a  gross  breach  of  politeness  to 
ask  for  part  of  any  other  till  its  turn  comes.  But  have 
patience,  and  there  will  be  eating  enough.  Allow  me 
to  run  over  the  acts  of  a  visiting  day,  not  overlooking 
the  interludes. 

Prelude  a  luncheon — then  a  succession  of  fish,  flesh, 
and  fowl  for  two  hours,  during  which  time  the  dessert 
— I  was  sorry  for  the  strawberries  and  cream — rests  on 
the  table  to  be  impregnated  by  the  fumes  of  the  viands. 
Coffee  immediately  follows  in  the  drawing-room,  but 
does  not  preclude  punch,  ale,  tea  and  cakes,  raw  salmon, 
&c.  A  supper  brings  up  the  rear,  not  forgetting  the 
introductory  luncheon,  almost  equalling  in  removes 
the  dinner.  A  day  of  this  kind  you  would  imagine 

sumcient ;   but  a   to-morrow  and  a  to-morrow A 

never-ending,  still-beginning  feast  may  be  bearable, 
perhaps,  when  stern  winter  frowns,  shaking  with 
chilling  aspect  his  hoary  locks  ;  but  during  a  summer, 
sweet  as  fleeting,  let  me,  my  kind  strangers,  escape 
sometimes  into  your  fir  groves,  wander  on  the  margin 
of  your  beautiful  lakes,  or  climb  your  rocks,  to  view 
still  others  in  endless  perspective,  which,  piled  by 
more  than  giant's  hand,  scale  the  heavens  to  intercept 
its  rays,  or  to  receive  the  parting  tinge  of  lingering 
that,  scarcely  softened  into  twilight,  allows 


28  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

the  freshening  breeze  to  wake,  and  the  moon  to  burst 
forth  iii  all  her  glory  to  glide  with  solemn  elegance 
through  the  azure  expanse. 

The  cow's  bell  has  ceased  to  tinkle  the  herd  to  rest ; 
they  have  all  paced  across  the  heath.  Is  not  this  the 
witching  time  of  night  ?  The  waters  murmur,  and  fall 
with  more  than  mortal  music,  and  spirits  of  peace  walk 
abroad  to  calm  the  agitated  breast.  Eternity  is  in  these 
moments.  Worldly  cares  melt  into  the  airy  stuff  that 
dreams  are  made  of,  and  reveries,  mild  and  enchanting 
as  the  first  hopes  of  love  or  the  recollection  of  lost  en- 
joyment, carry  the  hapless  wight  into  futurity,  who 
in  bustling  life  has  vainly  strove  to  throw  off  the  grief 
which  lies  heavy  at  the  heart.  Good  night  !  A  cres- 
cent hangs  out  in  the  vault  before,  which  woos  me  to 
stray  abroad.  It  is  not  a  silvery  reflection  of  the  sun, 
but  glows  with  all  its  golden  splendour.  Who  fears 
the  fallen  dew  ?  It  only  makes  the  mown  grass  smell 
more  fragrant.  Adieu  ! 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  29 


LETTER  III. 

THE  population  of  Sweden  lias  been  estimated  from 
two  millions  and  a  half  to  three  millions;  a  small 
number  for  such  an  immense  tract  of  country,  of  which 
only  so  much  is  cultivated — and  that  in  the  simplest 
manner — as  is  absolutely  requisite  to  supply  the  neces- 
saries of  life ;  and  near  the  seashore,  whence  herrings 
are  easily  procured,  there  scarcely  appears  a  vestige  of 
cultivation.  The  scattered  huts  that  stand  shivering 
on  the  naked  rocks,  braving  the  pitiless  elements,  are 
formed  of  logs  of  wood  rudely  hewn;  and  so  little 
pains  are  taken  with  the  craggy  foundation  that  no- 
thing like  a  pathway  points  out  the  door. 

Gathered  into  himself  by  the  cold,  lowering  his 
visage  to  avoid  the  cutting  blast,  is  it  surprising  that 
the  churlish  pleasure  of  drinking  drams  takes  place  of 
social  enjoyments  amongst  the  poor,  especially  if  we 
take  into  the  account  that  they  mostly  live  on  high- 
seasoned  provision  and  rye  bread?  Hard  enough,  you 
may  imagine,  as  it  is  baked  only  once  a  year.  The 
servants  also,  in  most  families,  eat  this  kind  of  bread, 
and  have  a  different  kind  of  food  from  their  masters, 
which,  in  spite  of  all  the  arguments  I  have  heard  to 
vindicate  the  custom,  appears  to  me  a  remnant  of 
barbarism. 

In  fact,  the  situation  of  the  servants  in  every  respect, 
particularly  that  of  the  women,  shows  how  far  the 
Swedes  are  from  having  a  just  conception  of  rational 


30  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

equality.  They  are  not  termed  slaves ;  yet  a  man  may 
strike  a  man  with  impunity  because  lie  pays  him  wages, 
though  these  wages  are  so  low  that  necessity  must 
teach  them  to  pilfer,  whilst  servility  renders  them  false 
and  boorish.  Still  the  men  stand  up  for  the  dignity  of 
man  by  oppressing  the  women.  The  most  menial,  and 
even  laborious  offices,  are  therefore  left  to  these  poor 
drudges.  Much  of  this  I  have  seen.  In  the  winter,  I 
am  told,  they  take  the  linen  down  to  the  river  to  wash 
it  in  the  cold  water,  and  though  their  hands,  cut  by  the 
ice,  are  cracked  and  bleeding,  the  men,  their  fellow- 
servants,  will  not  disgrace  their  manhood  by  carrying 
a  tub  to  lighten  their  burden. 

You  will  not  be  surprised  to  hear  that  they  do  not 
wear  shoes  or  stockings,  when  I  inform  you  that  their 
wages  are  seldom  more  than  twenty  or  thirty  shillings 
per  annum.  It  is  the  custom,  I  know,  to  give  them  a 
new  year's  gift  and  a  present  at  some  other  period,  but 
can  it  all  amount  to  a  just  indemnity  for  their  labour  ? 
The  treatment  of  servants  in  most  countries,  I  grant, 
is  very  unjust,  and  in  England,  that  boasted  land  of 
freedom,  it  is  often  extremely  tyrannical.  I  have  fre- 
quently, with  indignation,  heard  gentlemen  declare 
that  they  would  never  allow  a  servant  to  answer  them ; 
and  ladies  of  the  most  exquisite  sensibility,  who  were 
continually  exclaiming  against  the  cruelty  of  the  vulgar 
to  the  brute  creation,  have  in  my  presence  forgot  that 
their  attendants  had  human  feelings  as  well  as  forms. 
I  do  not  know  a  more  agreeable  sight  than  to  see  ser- 
vants part  of  a  family.  By  taking  an  interest,  gener- 
ally speaking,  in  their  concerns  you  inspire  them  with 


NORWAY,  AND  DENMARK.  31 

one  for  yours.  We  must  love  our  servants,  or  we  shall 
never  be  sufficiently  attentive  to  their  happiness ;  and 
how  can  those  masters  be  attentive  to  their  happiness 
who,  living  above  their  fortunes,  are  more  anxious  to 
outshine  their  neighbours  than  to  allow  their  household 
the  innocent  enjoyments  they  earn  ? 

It  is,  in  fact,  much  more  difficult  for  servants,  who 
are  tantalised  by  seeing  and  preparing  the  dainties  of 
which  they  are  not  to  partake,  to  remain  honest,  than 
the  poor,  whose  thoughts  are  not  led  from  their  homely 
fare ;  so  that,  though  the  servants  here  are  commonly 
thieves,  you  seldom  hear  of  housebreaking,  or  robbery 
on  the  highway.  The  country  is,  perhaps,  too  thinly 
inhabited  to  produce  many  of  that  description  of  thieves 
termed  footpads,  or  highwaymen.  They  are  usually 
the  spawn  of  great  cities — the  effect  of  the  spurious 
desires  generated  by  wealth,  rather  than  the  desperate 
struggles  of  poverty  to  escape  from  misery. 

The  enjoyment  of  the  peasantry  was  drinking  brandy 
and  coffee,  before  the  latter  was  prohibited,  and  the 
former  not  allowed  to  be  privately  distilled,  the  wars 
carried  on  by  the  late  king  rendering  it  necessary  to 
increase  the  revenue,  and  retain  the  specie  in  the 
country  by  every  possible  means. 

The  taxes  before  the  reign  of  Charles  XII.  were 
inconsiderable.  Since  then  the  burden  has  continually 
been  growing  heavier,  and  the  price  of  provisions  has 
proportionately  increased — nay,  the  advantage  accruing 
from  the  exportation  of  corn  to  Franco  and  rye  to 
Germany  will  probably  produce  a  scarcity  in  both 
Sweden  and  Norway,  should  not  a  peace  put  a  stop  to 


32  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

it  this  autumn,  for  speculations  of  various  kinds  have 
already  almost  doubled  the  price. 

Such  are  the  effects  of  war,  that  it  saps  the  vitals 
even  of  the  neutral  countries,  who,  obtaining  a  sudden 
influx  of  wealth,  appear  to  be  rendered  flourishing  by 
the  destruction  which  ravages  the  hapless  nations  who 
are  sacrificed  to  the  ambition  of  their  governors.  I 
shall  not,  however,  dwell  on  the  vices,  though  they  be 
of  the  most  contemptible  and  embruting  cast,  to  which 
a  sudden  accession  of  fortune  gives  birth,  because  I 
believe  it  may  be  delivered  as  an  axiom,  that  it  is  only 
in  proportion  to  the  industry  necessary  to  acquire 
wealth  that  a  nation  is  really  benefited  by  it. 

The  prohibition  of  drinking  coffee  under  a  penalty, 
and  the  encouragement  given  to  public  distilleries, 
tend  to  impoverish  the  poor,  who  are  not  affected  by 
the  sumptuary  laws ;  for  the  regent  has  lately  laid 
very  severe  restraints  on  the  articles  of  dress,  which 
the  middling  class  of  people  found  grievous,  because  it 
obliged  them  to  throw  aside  finery  that  might  have 
lasted  them  for  their  lives. 

These  may  be  termed  vexatious ;  still  the  death  of 
the  king,  by  saving  them  from  the  consequences  his 
ambition  would  naturally  have  entailed  on  them,  may 
be  reckoned  a  blessing. 

Besides,  the  French  Revolution  has  not  only  ren- 
dered all  the  crowned  heads  more  cautious,  but  has  so 
decreased  everywhere  (excepting  amongst  themselves) 
a  respect  for  nobility,  that  the  peasantry  have  not  only 
lost  their  blind  reverence  for  their  seigniors,  but  com- 
plain in  a  manly  style  of  oppressions  which  before  they 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  83 

did  not  think  of  denominating  such,  because  they  wcro 
taught  to  consider  themselves  as  a  different  order  of 
beings.  And,  perhaps,  the  efforts  which  the  aristocrats 
are  making  here,  as  well  as  in  every  other  part  of 
Europe,  to  secure  their  sway,  will  be  the  most  effectual 
mode  of  undermining  it,  taking  into  the  calculation 
that  the  King  of  Sweden,  like  most  of  the  potentates 
of  Europe,  has  continually  been  augmenting  his  power 
by  encroaching  on  the  privileges  of  the  nobles. 

The  well-bred  Swedes  of  the  capital  are  formed  on 
the  ancient  French  model,  and  they  in  general  speak 
that  language;  for  they  have  a  knack  at  acquiring 
languages  with  tolerable  fluency.  This  may  be  reckoned 
an  advantage  in  some  respects  ;  but  it  prevents  tho 
cultivation  of  their  own,  and  any  considerable  advance 
in  literary  pursuits. 

A  sensible  writer  has  lately  observed  (I  have  not  his 
work  by  me,  therefore  cannot  quote  his  exact  words), 
"  That  the  Americans  very  wisely  let  the  Europeans 
make  their  books  and  fashions  for  them."  But  I  can- 
not coincide  with  him  in  this  opinion.  The  reflection 
necessary  to  produce  a  certain  number  even  of  tolerable 
productions  augments  more  than  he  is  aware  of  the 
mass  of  knowledge  in  the  community.  Desullory 
reading  is  commonly  a  mere  pastime.  But  we  must 
have  an  object  to  refer  our  reflections  to,  or  they  will 
seldom  go  below  the  surface.  As  in  travelling,  the 
keeping  of  a  journal  excites  to  many  useful  inquiries 
that  would  not  have  been  thought  of  had  the  traveller 
only  determined  to  see  all  he  could  S3e,  without  ever 

king  himself  for  what  purpose.  Besides,  the  very 
B-158 


34  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

dabbling  in  literature  furnishes  harmless  topics  of 
conversation;  for  the  not  having  such  subjects  at 
hand,  though  they  are  often  insupportably  fatiguing, 
renders  the  inhabitants  of  little  towns  prying  and  cen- 
sorious. Idleness,  rather  than  ill-nature,  gives  birth  to 
scandal,  and  to  the  observation  of  little  incidents 
which  narrows  the  mind.  It  is  frequently  only  the 
fear  of  being  talked  of  which  produces  that  puerile 
scrupulosity  about  trifles  incompatible  with  an  enlarged 
plan  of  usefulness,  and  with  the  basis  of  all  moral 
principles — respect  for  the  virtues  which  are  not  merely 
the  virtues  of  convention. 

I  am,  my  friend,  more  and  more  convinced  that  a 
metropolis,  or  an  abode  absolutely  solitary,  is  the  best 
calculated  for  the  improvement  of  the  heart,  as  well  as 
the  understanding  ;  whether  we  desire  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  man,  nature,  or  ourselves.  Mixing  with 
mankind,  we  are  obliged  to  examine  our  prejudices, 
and  often  imperceptibly  lose,  as  we  analyse  them.  And 
in  the  country,  growing  intimate  with  nature,  a  thou- 
sand little  circumstances,  unseen  by  vulgar  eyes,  give 
birth  to  sentiments  dear  to  the  imagination,  and  in- 
quiries which  expand  the  soul,  particularly  when  culti- 
vation has  not  smoothed  into  insipidity  all  its  origi- 
nality of  character. 

I  love  the  country,  yet  whenever  I  see  a  picturesque 
situation  chosen  on  which  to  erect  a  dwelling  I  am 
always  afraid  of  the  improvements.  It  requires  uncom- 
mon taste  to  form  a  whole,  and  to  introduce  accommo- 
dations and  ornaments  analogous  with  the  surrounding 
scene. 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  35 

I  visited,  near  Gothenburg,  a  house  with  improved 
land  about  it,  with  which  I  was  particularly  delighted. 
It  was  close  to  a  lake  embosomed  in  pine-clad  rocks. 
In  one  part  of  the  meadows  your  eye  was  directed  to 
the  broad  expanse,  in  another  you  were  led  into  a  shade, 
to  see  a  part  of  it,  in  the  form  of  a  river,  rush  amongst 
the  fragments  of  rocks  and  roots  of  trees;  nothing 
seemed  forced.  One  recess,  particularly  grand  and 
solemn  amongst  the  towering  cliffs,  had  a  rude  stone 
table  and  seat  placed  in  it,  that  might  have  served  for 
a  Druid's  haunt,  whilst  a  placid  stream  below  enlivened 
the  flowers  on  its  margin,  where  light-footed  elves 
would  gladly  have  danced  their  airy  rounds. 

Here  the  hand  of  taste  was  conspicuous  though  not 
obtrusive,  and  formed  a  contrast  with  another  abode 
in  the  same  neighbourhood,  on  which  much  money  had 
been  lavished ;  where  Italian  colonnades  were  placed  to 
excite  the  wonder  of  the  rude  crags,  and  a  stone  stair- 
case, to  threaten  with%  destruction  a  wooden  house. 
Yenuses  and  Apollos  condemned  to  lie  hid  in  snow 
three  parts  of  the  year  seemed  equally  displaced,  and 
called  the  attention  off  from  the'surrounding  sublimity, 
without  inspiring  any  voluptuous  sensations.  Yet  even 
these  abortions  of  vanity  have  been  useful.  Number- 
less workmen  have  been  employed,  and  the  superintend- 
ing artist  has  improved  the  labourers,  whose  unskilful- 
ness  tormented  him,  by  obliging  them  to  submit  to  the 
discipline  of  rules.  Adieu ! 

Yours  affectionately. 


oG  LETTERS  ON 


LETTER  IV. 

THE  severity  of  the  long  Swedish  winter  tends  to 
render  the  people  sluggish,  for  though  this  season  has 
its  peculiar  pleasures,  too  much  time  is  employed  to 
guard  against  its  inclemency.  Still  as  warm  clothing 
is  absolutely  necessary,  the  women  spin  and  the  men 
weave,  r.nd  by  these  exertions  get  a  fence  to  keep  out 
the  cold.  I  have  rarely  passed  a  knot  of  cottages 
without  seeing  cloth  laid  out  to  bleach,  and  when  I 
entered,  always  found  the  women  spinning  or  knitting. 

A  mistaken  tenderness,  however,  for  their  children, 
makes  them  even  in  summer  load  them  with  flannels, 
and  having  a  sort  of  natural  antipathy  to  cold  water, 
the  squalid  appearance  of  the  poor  babes,  not  to  speak 
of  the  noxious  smell  which  flannel  and  rugs  retain, 
seems  a  reply  to  a  question  I  had  often  asked — Why  I 
did  not  see  more  children  in  the  villages  I  passed 
through  ?  Indeed  the  children  appear  to  be  nipt  in 
the  bud,  having  neither  the  graces  nor  charms  of  their 
age.  And  this,  I  am  persuaded,  is  much  more  owing  to 
the  ignorance  of  the  mothers  than  to  the  rudeness  of 
the  climate.  Rendered  feeble  by  the  continual  perspi- 
ration they  are  kept  in,  whilst  every  pore  is  absorbing 
unwholesome  moisture,  they  give  them,  even  at  the 
breast,  brandy,  salt  fish,  and  every  other  crude  sub- 
stance which  air  and  exercise  enables  the  parent  to 
digest. 

The  women  of  fortune  hero,  as  well  as  everywhere 
else,  have  nurses  to  suckle  their  children;  and  tho 


NORWAY,  AND  DENMARK, 


37 


total  want  of  chastity  iii  the  lower  class  of  woraeii 
frequently  renders  them  very  unfit  for  the  trust. 

You  have  sometimes  remarked  to  me  the  difference 
of  the  manners  of  the  country  girls  in  England  and  in 
America ;  attributing  the  reserve  of  the  former  to  the 
climate — to  the  absence  of  genial  suns.  But  it  must 
be  their  stars,  not  the  zephyrs,  gently  stealing  on  their 
senses,  which  here  lead  frail  women  astray.  Who  can 
look  at  these  rocks,  and  allow  the  voluptuousness  of 
nature  to  be  an  excuse  for  gratifying  the  desires  it 
inspires  ?  We  must  therefore,  find  some  other  cause 
beside  voluptuousness,  I  believe,  to  account  for  the 
conduct  of  the  Swedish  and  American  country  girls; 
for  I  am  led  to  conclude,  from  all  the  observations  I 
have  made,  that  there  is  always  a  mixture  of  sentiment 
and  imagination  in  voluptuousness,  to  which  neither  of 
them  have  much  pretension. 

The  country  girls  of  Ireland  and  Wales  equally  feel 
the  first  impulse  of  nature,  which,  restrained  in  England 
by  fear  or  delicacy,  proves  that  society  is  there  in  a 
more  advanced  state.  Besides,  as  the  mind  is  culti- 
vated, and  taste  gains  ground,  the  passions  become 
stronger,  and  rest  on  something  more  stable  than  the 
casual  sympathies  of  the  moment.  Health  and  idleness 
will  always  account  for  promiscuous  amours;  and  in 
some  degree  I  term  every  person  idle,  the  exercise  of 
whose  mind  does  not  bear  some  proportion  to  that  of 
the  body. 

The  Swedish  ladies  exercise  neither  sufficiently ;  of 
course,  grow  very  fat  at  an  early  age ;  and  when  they 
have  not  this  downy  appearance,  a  comfortable  idea, 


38  LETTERS   ON  SWEDEN, 

you  will  say,  in  a  cold  climate,  they  are  not  remarkable 
for  fine  forms.  They  have,  however,  mostly  fine  com- 
plexions ;  but  indolence  makes  the  lily  soon  displace 
the  rose.  The  quantity  of  coffee,  spices,  and  other 
things  of  that  kind,  with  want  of  care,  almost  uni- 
versally spoil  their  teeth,  which  contrast  but  ill  with 
their  ruby  lips. 

The  manners  of  Stockholm  are  refined,  I  hear,  by 
the  introduction  of  gallantry;  but  in  the  country, 
romping  and  coarse  freedoms,  with  coarser  allusions, 
keep  the  spirits  awake.  In  the  article  of  cleanliness,  the 
women  of  all  descriptions  seem  very  deficient;  and 
their  dress  shows  that  vanity  is  more  inherent  in 
women  than  taste. 

The  men  appear  to  have  paid  still  less  court  to  the 
graces.  They  are  a  robust,  healthy  race,  distinguished 
for  their  common  sense  and  turn  for  humour,  rather 
than  for  wit  or  sentiment.  I  include  not,  as  you  may 
suppose,  in  this  general  character,  some  of  the  nobility 
and  officers,  who  having  travelled,  are  polite  and  well 
informed. 

I  must  own  to  you  that  the  lower  class  of  people 
here  amuse  and  interest  me  much  more  than  the 
middling,  with  their  apish  good  breeding  and 
prejudices.  The  sympathy  and  frankness  of  heart 
conspicuous  in  the  peasantry  produces  even  a  simple 
gracefulness  of  deportment  which  has  frequently 
struck  me  as  very  picturesque ;  I  have  often  also  been 
touched  by  their  extreme  desire  to  oblige  me,  when  I 
could  not  explain  my  wants,  and  by  their  earnest 
manner  of  expressing  that  desire.  There  is  such  a 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  39 


cliarin  in  tenderness  !  It  is  so  delightful  to  love  our 
fellow-creatures,  and  meet  the  honest  affections  as  they 
break  forth.  Still,  my  good  friend,  I  begin  to  think 
that  I  should  not  like  to  live  continually  in  the  country 
with  people  whose  minds  have  such  a  narrow  range: 
My  heart  would  frequently  be  interested ;  but  my  mind 
would  languish  for  more  companionable  society. 

The  beauties  of  nature  appear  to  me  now  even  more 
alluring  than  in  my  youth,  because  my  intercourse 
with  the  world  has  formed  without  vitiating  my  taste. 
But,  with  respect  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  my 
fancy  has  probably,  when  disgusted  with  artificial 
manners,  solaced  itself  by  joining  the  advantages  of 
cultivation  with  the  interesting  sincerity  of  innocence, 
forgetting  the  lassitude  that  ignorance  will  naturally 
produce.  I  like  to  see  animals  sporting,  and  sympa- 
thise in  their  pains  and  pleasures.  Still  I  love  some- 
times to  view  the  human  face  divine,  and  trace  the 
soul,  as  well  as  the  heart,  in  its  varying  lineaments. 

A  journey  to  the  country,  which  I  must  shortly  make, 
will  enable  me  to  extend  my  remarks. — Adieu ! 


40  LETTERS   ON    SWEDEN, 


LETTER  V. 

HAD  I  determined  to  travel  in  Sweden  merely  for 
pleasure,  I  should  probably  have  chosen  the  road  to 
Stockholm,  though  convinced,  by  repeated  observation, 
that  the  manners  of  a  people  are  best  discriminated  in 
the  country.  The  inhabitants  of  the  capital  are  all 
of  the  same  genus ;  for  the  varieties  in  the  species  we 
must,  therefore,  search  where  the  habitations  of  men 
are  so  separated  as  to  allow  the  difference  of  climate  to 
have  its  natural  effect.  And  with  this  difference  we 
are,  perhaps,  most  forcibly  struck  at  the  first  view, 
just  as  we  form  an  estimate  of  the  leading  traits  of  a 
character  at  the  first  glance,  of  which  intimacy  after- 
wards makes  us  almost  lose  sight. 

As  my  affairs  called  me  to  Stromstad  (the  frontier 
town  of  Sweden)  in  my  way  to  Norway,  I  was  to  pass 
over,  I  heard,  the  most  uncultivated  part  of  the  country. 
Still  I  believe  that  the  grand  features  of  Sweden  are 
the  same  everywhere,  and  it  is  only  the  grand  features 
that  admit  of  description.  There  is  an  individuality  in 
every  prospect,  which  remains  in  the  memory  as  forcibly 
depicted  as  the  particular  features  that  have  arrested 
our  attention  ;  yet  we  cannot  find  words  to  discriminate 
that  individuality  so  as  to  enable  a  stranger  to  say, 
this  is  the  face,  that  the  view.  We  may  amuse  by 
setting  the  imagination  to  work ;  but  we  cannot  store 
the  memory  with  a  fact. 

As  I  wish  to  give  you  a  general  idea  of  this  country, 
I  shall  continue  in  my  desultory  manner  to  make  such 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  41 

observations  and  reflections  as  the  circumstances  draw 
forth,  without  losing  time,  by  endeavouring  to  arrange 
them. 

Travelling  in  Sweden  is  very  cheap,  and  even  com- 
modious, if  you  make  but  the  proper  arrangements. 
Here,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  Continent,  it  is  necessary 
to  have  your  own  carriage,  and  to  have  a  servant  who 
can  speak  the  language,  if  you  are  unacquainted  with 
it.  Sometimes  a  servant  who  can  drive  would  be  found 
very  useful,  which  was  our  case,  for  I  travelled  in 
company  with  two  gentlemen,  one  of  whom  had  a 
German  servant  who  drove  very  well.  This  was  all 
the  party ;  for  not  intending  to  make  a  long  stay,  I 
left  my  little  girl  behind  me. 

As  the  roads  are  not  much  frequented,  to  avoid 
waiting  three  or  four  hours  for  horses,  we  sent,  as 
is  the  constant  custom,  an  avant  courier  the  night 
before,  to  order  them  at  every  post,  and  we  constantly 
found  them  ready.  Our  first  set  I  jokingly  termed 
requisition  horses;  but  afterwards  we  had  almost 
always  little  spirited  animals  that  went  on  at  a  round 
pace. 

The  roads,  making  allowance  for  the  ups  and  downs, 
are  uncommonly  good  and  pleasant.  The  expense,  in- 
cluding the  postillions  and  other  incidental  things, 
does  not  amount  to  more  than  a  shilling  the  Swedish 
mile. 

The  inns  are  tolerable ;  but  not  liking  the  rye  bread, 
I  found  it  necessary  to  furnish  myself  with  some 
wheaten  before  I  set  out.  The  beds,  too,  were  par- 
ticularly disagreeable  to  me.  It  seemed  to  me  that  1 


42  LETTEES   ON   SWEDEN, 

was  sinking  into  a  grave  when  I  entered  them;  for, 
immersed  in  down  placed  in  a  sort  of  box,  I  expected 
to  be  suffocated  before  morning.  The  sleeping  be- 
tween two  down  beds — they  do  so  even  in  summer — 
must  be  very  unwholesome  during  any  season ;  and  I 
cannot  conceive  how  the  people  can  bear  it,  especially 
as  the  summers  are  very  warm.  But  warmth  they 
seem  not  to  feel ;  and,  I  should  think,  were  afraid  of 
the  air,  by  always  keeping  their  windows  shut.  In  the 
winter,  I  am  persuaded,  I  could  not  exist  in  rooms  thus 
closed  up,  with  stoves  heated  in  their  manner,  for  they 
only  put  wood  into  them  twice  a  day ;  and,  when  the 
stove  is  thoroughly  heated,  they  shut  the  flue,  not 
admitting  any  air  to  renew  its  elasticity,  even  when 
the  rooms  are  crowded  with  company.  These  stoves 
are  made  of  earthenware,  and  often  in  a  form  that 
ornaments  an  apartment,  which  is  never  the  case  with 
the  heavy  iron  ones  I  have  seen  elsewhere.  Stoves 
may  be  economical,  but  I  like  a  fire,  a  wood  one,  in 
preference;  and  I  am  convinced  that  the  current  of 
air  which  it  attracts  renders  this  the  best  mode  of 
warming  rooms. 

We  arrived  early  the  second  evening  at  a  little  village 
called  Quistram,  where  we  had  determined  to  pass  the 
night,  having  been  informed  that  wo  should  not  after- 
wards find  a  tolerable  inn  until  we  reached  Stromstad. 

Advancing  towards  Quistram,  as  the  sun  was  begin- 
ning to  decline,  I  was  particularly  impressed  by  the 
beauty  of  the  situation.  The  road  was  on  the  declivity 
of  a  rocky  mountain,  slightly  covered  with  a  mossy 
herbage  and  vagrant  firs.  At  the  bottom,  a  river, 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  43 

straggling  amongst  the  recesses  of  stone,  was  hasten- 
ing forward  to  the  ocean  and  its  grey  rocks,  of  which 
we  had  a  prospect  on  the  left ;  whilst  on  the  right  it 
stole  peacefully  forward  into  the  meadows,  losing  itself 
in  a  thickly-wooded  rising  ground.  As  we  drew  near, 
the  loveliest  banks  of  wild  flowers  variegated  the  pro- 
spect, and  promised  to  exhale  odours  to  add  to  the 
sweetness  of  the  air,  the  purity  of  which  you  could 
almost  see,  alas !  not  smell,  for  the  putrefying  herrings, 
which  they  use  as  manure,  after  the  oil  has  been  ex- 
tracted, spread  over  the  patches  of  earth,  claimed  by 
cultivation,  destroyed  every  other. 

It  was  intolerable,  and  entered  with  us  into  the  inn, 
which  was  in  other  respects  a  charming  retreat. 

Whilst  supper  was  preparing  I  crossed  the  bridge, 
and  strolled  by  the  river,  listening  to  its  murmurs. 
Approaching  the  bank,  the  beauty  of  which  had  at- 
tracted my  attention  in  the  carriage,  I  recognised  many 
of  my  old  acquaintance  growing  with  great  luxuriance. 

Seated  on  it,  I  could  not  avoid  noting  an  obvious 
remark.  Sweden  appeared  to  me  the  country  in  the 
world  most  proper  to  form  the  botanist  and  natural 
historian;  every  object  seemed  to  remind  me  of  the 
creation  of  things,  of  the  first  efforts  of  sportive 
nature.  When  a  country  arrives  at  a  certain  state  of 
perfection,  it  looks  as  if  it  were  made  so  ;  and  curiosity 
is  not  excited.  Besides,  in  social  life  too  many  objects 
occur  for  any  to  be  distinctly  observed  by  the  gener- 
ality of  mankind ;  yet  a  contemplative  man,  or  poet, 
in  the  country — I  do  not  mean  the  country  adjacent  to 
cities— feels  and  sees  what  would  escape  vulgar  eyes, 


44  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

and  draws  suitable  inferences.  This  train  of  reflec- 
tions might  have  led  me  further,  in  every  sense  of  the 
word;  but  I  could  not  escape  from  the  detestable 
evaporation  of  the  herrings,  which  poisoned  all  my 
pleasure. 

After  making  a  tolerable  supper — for  it  is  not  easy 
to  get  fresh  provisions  on  the  road — I  retired,  to  be 
lulled  to  sleep  by  the  murmuring  of  a  stream,  of  which 
I  with  great  difficulty  obtained  sufficient  to  perform 
my  daily  ablutions. 

The  last  battle  between  the  Danes  and  Swedes, 
which  gave  new  life  to  their  ancient  enmity,  was  fought 
at  this  place  1788;  only  seventeen  or  eighteen  were 
killed,  for  the  great  superiority  of  the  Danes  and 
Norwegians  obliged  the  Swedes  to  submit ;  but  sick- 
ness, and  a  scarcity  of  provision,  proved  very  fatal  to 
their  opponents  on  their  return. 

It  would  be  very  easy  to  search  for  the  particulars 
of  this  engagement  in  the  publications  of  the  day ;  but 
as  this  manner  of  filling  my  pages  does  not  come 
within  my  plan,  I  probably  should  not  have  remarked 
that  the  battle  was  fought  here,  were  it  not  to  relate 
an  anecdote  which  I  had  from  good  authority. 

I  noticed,  when  I  first  mentioned  this  place  to  you, 
that  we  descended  a  steep  before  we  came  to  the  inn  ; 
an  immense  ridge  of  rocks  stretching  out  on  one  side. 
The  inn  was  sheltered  under  them;  and  about  a 
hundred  yards  from  it  was  a  bridge  that  crossed  the 
river,  the  murmurs  of  which  I  have  celebrated ;  it  was 
not  fordable.  The  Swedish  general  received  orders  to 
stop  at  the  bridge  and  dispute  the  passage— a  most 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  45 

advantageous  post  for  an  army  so  mucli  inferior  in 
force ;  but  the  influence  of  beauty  is  not  confined  to 
courts.  The  mistress  of  the  inn  was  handsome  ;  when 
I  saw  her  there  were  still  some  remains  of  beauty; 
and,  to  preserve  her  house,  the  general  gave  up  the 
only  tenable  station.  He  was  afterwards  broke  for 
contempt  of  orders. 

Approaching. the  frontiers,  consequently  the  sea, 
nature  resumed  an  aspect  ruder  and  ruder,  or  rather 
seemed  the  bones  of  the  world  waiting  to  be  clothed 
with  everything  necessary  to  give  life  and  beauty. 
Still  it  was  sublime. 

The  clouds  caught  their  hue  of  the  rocks  that 
menaced  them.  The  sun  appeared  afraid  to  shine, 
the  birds  ceased  to  sing,  and  the  flowers  to  bloom; 
but  the  eagle  fixed  his  nest  high  amongst  the  rocks, 
and  the  vulture  hovered  over  this  abode  of  desolation. 
The  farm  houses,  in  which  only  poverty  resided,  were 
formed  of  logs  scarcely  keeping  off  the  cold  and 
drifting  snow :  out  of  them  the  inhabitants  seldom 
peeped,  and  the  sports  or  prattling  of  children  was 
neither  seen  or  heard.  The  current  of  life  seemed 
congealed  at  the  source:  all  were  not  frozen,  for  it 
was  summer,  you  remember ;  but  everything  appeared 
so  dull  that  I  waited  to  see  ice,  in  order  to  reconcile 
me  to  the  absence  of  gaiety. 

The  day  before,  my  attention  had  frequently  been 
attracted  by  the  wild  beauties  of  the  country  wo  passed 
through. 

The  rocks  which  tossed  their  fantastic  heads  so  high 
were  often  covered  with  pines  and  firs,  varied  in  tho 


46  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

most  picturesque  manner.  Little  woods  filled  up  the 
recesses  when  forests  did  not  darken  the  scene,  and 
valleys  and  glens,  cleared  of  the  trees,  displayed  a 
dazzling  verdure  which  contrasted  with  the  gloom  of 
the  shading  pines.  The  eye  stole  into  many  a  covert 
where  tranquillity  seemed  to  have  taken  up  her  abode, 
and  the  number  of  little  lakes  that  continually  pre- 
sented themselves  added  to  the  peaceful  composure  of 
the  scenery.  The  little  cultivation  which  appeared 
did  not  break  the  enchantment,  nor  did  castles  rear 
their  turrets  aloft  to  crush  the  cottages,  and  prove 
that  man  is  more  savage  than  the  natives  of  the  woods. 
I  heard  of  the  bears  but  never  saw  them  stalk  forth, 
which  I  was  sorry  for ;  I  wished  to  have  seen  one  in 
its  wild  state.  In  the  winter,  I  am  told,  they  some- 
times catch  a  stray  cow,  which  is  a  heavy  loss  to  the 
owner. 

The  farms  are  small.  Indeed  most  of  the  houses 
we  saw  011  the  road  indicated  poverty,  or  rather  that 
the  people  could  just  live.  Towards  the  frontiers  they 
grew  worse  and  worse  in  their  appearance,  as  if  not 
willing  to  put  sterility  itself  out  of  countenance.  ~No 
gardens  smiled  round  the  habitations,  not  a  potato  or 
cabbage  to  eat  with  the  fish  drying  on  a  stick  near  the 
door.  A  little  grain  here  and  there  appeared,  the  long 
stalks  of  which  you  might  almost  reckon.  The  day 
was  gloomy  when  we  passed  over  this  rejected  spot, 
the  wind  bleak,  and  winter  seemed  to  be  contending 
with  nature,  faintly  struggling  to  change  the  season. 
Surely,  thought  I,  if  the  sun  ever  shines  here  it  cannot 
warm  these  stones;  moss  only  cleaves  to  them, 


NORWAY,   AND  DENMARK.  47 

partaking  of  their  hardness,  and  nothing  like  vegetable 
life  appears  to  cheer  with  hope  the  heart. 

So  far  from  thinking  that  the  primitive  inhabitants 
of  the  world  lived  in  a  southern  climate  where  Paradise 
spontaneously  arose,  I  am  led  to  infer,  from  various 
circumstances,  that  the  first  dwelling  of  man  happened 
to  be  a  spot  like  this  which  led  him  to  adore  a  sun  so 
seldom  seen;  for  this  worship,  which  probably  pre- 
ceded that  of  demons  or  demigods,  certainly  never 
began  in  a  southern  climate,  where  the  continual 
presence  of  the  sun  prevented  its  being  considered 
as  a  good ;  or  rather  the  want  of  it  never  being  felt, 
this  glorious  luminary  would  carelessly  have  diffused 
its  blessings  without  being  hailed  as  a  benefactor. 
Man  must  therefore  have  been  placed  in  the  north,  to 
tempt  him  to  run  after  the  sun,  in  order  that  the 
different  parts  of  the  earth  might  be  peopled.  Nor  do 
I  wonder  that  hordes  of  barbarians  always  poured  out 
of  these  regions  to  seek  for  milder  climes,  when 
nothing  like  cultivation  attached  them  to  the  soil, 
especially  when  we  take  into  the  view  that  the  ad- 
venturing spirit,  common  to  man,  is  naturally  stronger 
and  more  general  during  the  infancy  of  society.  The 
conduct  of  the  followers  of  Mahomet,  and  the  crusaders, 
will  sufficiently  corroborate  my  assertion. 

Approaching  nearer  to  Stromstad,  the  appearance  of 
the  town  proved  to  be  quite  in  character  with  the 
country  we  had  just  passed  through.  I  hesitated  to 
use  the  word  country,  yet  could  not  find  another ;  still 
it  would  sound  absurd  to  talk  of  fields  of  rocks. 

The  town  was  built  on  and  under  them.     Three  or 


48  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

four  weather-beaten  trees  were  shrinking'  from  the 
wind,  and  the  grass  grew  so  sparingly  that  I  could 
not  avoid  thinking  Dr.  Johnson's  hyperbolical  asser- 
tion "  that  the  man  merited  well  of  his  country  who 
made  a  few  blades  of  grass  grow  where  they  never 
grew  before,"  might  here  have  been  uttered  with  strict 
propriety.  The  steeple  likewise  towered  aloft,  for 
what  is  a  church,  even  amongst  the  Lutherans,  without 
a  steeple  ?  But  to  prevent  mischief  in  such  an  exposed 
situation,  it  is  wisely  placed  on  a  rock  at  some  distance 
not  to  endanger  the  roof  of  the  church. 

Rambling  about,  I  saw  the  door  open,  and  entered, 
when  to  my  great  surprise  I  found  the  clergyman 
reading  prayers,  with  only  the  clerk  attending.  I 
instantly  thought  of  Swift's  "  Dearly  beloved  Roger," 
but  on  inquiry  I  learnt  that  some  one  had  died  that 
morning,  and  in  Sweden  it  is  customary  to  pray  for 
the  dead. 

The  sun,  who  1  suspected  never  dared  to  shine, 
began  now  to  convince  me  that  he  came  forth  only 
to  torment;  for  though  the  wind  was  still  cutting, 
the  rocks  became  intolerably  warm  under  iny  feet, 
whilst  the  herring  effluvia,  which  I  before  found  so 
very  offensive,  once  more  assailed  me.  I  hastened 
back  to  the  house  of  a  merchant,  the  little  sovereign 
of  the  place,  because  he  was  by  far  the  richest, 
though  not  the  mayor. 

Here  we  were  most  hospitably  received,  and  in- 
troduced to  a  very  fine  and  numerous  family.  I  have 
before  mentioned  to  you  the  lilies  of  the  north,  I 
might  have  added,  water  lilies,  for  the  complexion  of 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  49 

many,  even  of  the  yov.nsf  women,  seem  to  be  bleached 
on  the  bosom  of  snow.  But  in  this  youthful  circle  the 
roses  bloomed  with  all  their  wonted  freshness,  and  I 
wondered  from  -whence  the  fire  was  stolen  which 
sparkled  in  their  fine  blue  eyes. 

Here  we  slept ;  and  I  rose  early  in  the  morning  to 
prepare  for  my  little  voyage  to  Norway.  I  had  deter- 
mined to  go  by  water,  and  was  to  leave  my  companions 
behind ;  but  not  getting  a  boat  immediately,  and  the 
wind  being  high  and  unfavourable,  I  was  told  that  it 
was  not  safe  to  go  to  sea  during  such  boisterous 
weather;  I  was,  therefore,  obliged  to  wait  for  the 
morrow,  and  had  the  present  day  on  my  hands,  which 
I  feared  would  be  irksome,  because  the  family,  who 
possessed  about  a  dozen  French  words  amongst  them 
and  not  an  English  phrase,  were  anxious  to  amuse  me, 
and  would  not  let  me  remain  alone  in  my  room.  Tho 
town  we  had  already  walked  round  and  round,  and  if 
we  advanced  farther  on  the  coast,  it  was  still  to  view 
the  same  unvaried  immensity  of  water  surrounded  by 
barrenness. 

The  gentlemen,  wishing  to  peep  into  Norway,  pro- 
posed going  to  Fredericshall,  the  first  town — the  dis- 
tance was  only  three  Swedish  miles.  There  and  back 
again  was  but  a  day's  journey,  and  would  not,  I  thought, 
interfere  with  my  voyage.  I  agreed,  and  invited  the 
eldest  and  prettiest  of  the  girls  to  accompany  us.  I 
invited  her  because  I  like  to  see  a  beautiful  face  ani- 
mal ed  by  pleasure,  and  to  have  an  opportunity  of 
regarding  the  country,  whilst  the  gentlemen  were 
amusing  themselves  with  her. 


50  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

I  did  not  know,  for  I  had  not  thought  of  it,  that  we 
were  to  scale  some  of  the  most  mountainous  cliffs  of 
Sweden  in  our  way  to  the  ferry  which  separates  the 
two  countries. 

Entering  amongst  the  cliffs,  we  were  sheltered  from 
the  wind,  warm  sunbeams  began  to  play,  streams  to 
flow,  and  groves  of  pines  diversified  the  rocks.  Some- 
times  they  became  suddenly  bare  and  sublime.  Once, 
in  particular,  after  mounting  the  most  terrific  precipice, 
we  had  to  pass  through  a  tremendous  defile,  where  the 
closing  chasm  seemed  to  threaten  ns  with  instant 
destruction,  when,  turning  quickly,  verdant  meadows 
and  a  beautiful  lake  relieved  and  charmed  my  eyes. 

I  had  never  travelled  through  Switzerland,  but  one 
of  my  companions  assured  me  that  I  should  not  there 
find  anything  superior,  if  equal,  to  the  wild  grandeur 
of  these  views. 

As  we  had  not  taken  this  excursion  into  our  plan, 
the  horses  had  not  been  previously  ordered,  which 
obliged  us  to  wait  two  hours  at  the  first  post.  The 
day  was  wearing  away.  The  road  was  so  bad  that 
walking  np  the  precipices  consumed  the  time  in- 
sensibly ;  but  as  we  desired  horses  at  each  post  ready 
at  a  certain  hour,  we  reckoned  on  returning  more 
speedily. 

We  stopped  to  dine  at  a  tolerable  farm ;  they  brought 
us  out  ham,  butter,  cheese,  and  milk,  and  the  charge 
was  so  moderate  that  I  scattered  a  little  money  amongst 
the  children  who  were  peeping  at  us,  in  order  to  pay 
them  for  their  trouble. 

Arrived  at  the  ferry,  we  were  still  detained,  for  the 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  51 

people  who  attend  at  the  ferries  have  a  stupid  kind  of 
sluggishness  in  their  manner,  which  is  very  provoking 
when  you  are  in  haste.  At  present  I  did  not  feel  it, 
for,  scrambling  up  the  cliffs,  my  eye  followed  the  river 
as  it  rolled  between  the  grand  rocky  banks ;  and,  to 
complete  the  scenery,  they  were  covered  with  firs  and 
pines,  through  which  the  wind  rustled  as  if  it  were 
lulling  itself  to  sleep  with  the  declining  sun. 

Behold  us  now  in  Norway ;  and  I  could  not  avoid 
feeling  surprise  at  observing  the  difference  in  the 
manners  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  two  sides  of  the 
river,  for  everything  shows  that  the  Norwegians  are 
more  industrious  and  more  opulent.  The  Swedes  (for 
neighbours  are  seldom  the  best  friends)  accuse  the 
Norwegians  of  knavery,  and  they  retaliate  by  bringing 
a  charge  of  hypocrisy  against  the  Swedes.  Local 
circumstances  probably  render  both  unjust,  speaking 
from  their  feelings  rather  than  reason;  and  is  this 
astonishing  when  we  consider  that  mosfc  writers  of 
travels .  have  done  the  same,  whose  works  have  served 
as  materials  for  the  compilers  of  universal  histories  ? 
All  are  eager  to  give  a  national  character,  which  is 
rarely  just,  because  they  do  not  discriminate  the 
natural  from  the  acquired  difference.  The  natural,  I 
believe,  on  due  consideration,  will  be  found  to  consist 
merely  in  the  degree  of  vivacity,  or  thoughtfulness, 
pleasure,  or  pain,  inspired  by  the  climate,  whilst  the 
varieties  which  the  forms  of  government,  including 
religion,  produce  are  much  more  numerous  and  un- 
stable. 

A  people  have  been  characterised  as  stupid  fey  nature ; 


52  LETTERS   ON  SWEDEN, 

what  a  paradox !  because  they  did  not  consider  that 
slaves,  having  no  object  to  stimulate  industry,  have 
not  their  faculties  sharpened  by  the  only  thing  that 
can  exercise  them,  self-interest.  Others  have  been 
brought  forward  as  brutes,  having  no  aptitude  for  the 
arts  and  sciences,  only  because  the  progress  of  im- 
provement had  not  reached  that  stage  which  produces 
them. 

Those  writers  who  have  considered  the  history  of 
man,  or  of  the  human  mind,  on  a  more  enlarged  scale 
have  fallen  into  similar  errors,  not  reflecting  that  the 
passions  are  weak  where  the  necessaries  of  life  are  too 
hardly  or  too  easily  obtained. 

Travellers  who  require  that  every  nation  should  re- 
semble their  native  country,  had  better  stay  at  home. 
It  is,  for  example,  absurd  to  blame  a  people  for  not 
having  that  degree  of  personal  cleanliness  and  elegance 
of  manners  which  only  refinement  of  taste  produces, 
and  will  produce  everywhere  in  proportion  as  society 
attains  a  general  polish.  The  most  essential  service,  I 
presume,  that  authors  could  render  to  society,  would  be 
to  promote  inquiry  and  discussion,  instead  of  making 
those  dogmatical  assertions  which  only  appear  calculated 
to  gird  the  human  mind  round  with  imaginary  circles, 
like  the  paper  globe  which  represents  the  one  he  in- 
habits. 

This  spirit  of  inquiry  is  the  characteristic  of  the 
present  century,  from  which  the  succeeding  will,  I  am 
persuaded,  receive  a  great  accumulation  of  knowledge  ; 
and  doubtless  its  diffusion  will  in  a  great  measure 
destroy  the  factitious  national  characters  which  have 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  53 

been  supposed  permanent,  though  only  rendered  so  by 
the  permanency  of  ignorance. 

Arriving  at  Fredericshall,  at  the  siege  of  which 
Charles  XII.  lost  his  life,  we  had  only  time  to  take  a 
transient  view  of  it  whilst  they  were  preparing  us  some 
refreshment. 

Poor  Charles  !  I  thought  of  him  with  respect.  I 
have  always  felt  the  same  for  Alexander,  with  Avhom 
he  has  been  classed  as  a  madman  by  several  writers, 
who  have  reasoned  superficially,  confounding  tho 
morals  of  the  day  with  the  few  grand  principles  on 
which  unchangeable  morality  rests.  Making  no  allow- 
ance for  the  ignorance  and  prejudices  of  the  period, 
they  do  not  perceive  how  much  they  themselves  are 
indebted  to  general  improvement  for  the  acquirements, 
and  even  the  virtues,  which  they  would  not  have  had 
the  force  of  mind  to  attain  by  their  individual  exertions 
in  a  less  advanced  state  of  society. 

The  evening  was  fine,  as  is  usual  at  this  season,  and 
the  refreshing  odour  of  the  pine  woods  became  more 
perceptible,  for  it  was  nine  o'clock  when  we  left 
Fredericshall.  At  the  ferry  we  were  detained  by  a 
dispute  relative  to  our  Swedish  passport,  which  we  did 
not  think  of  getting  countersigned  in  Norway.  Mid- 
night was  coming  on,  yet  it  might  with  such  propriety 
have  been  termed  the  noon  of  night  that,  had  Young 
ever  travelled  towards  the  north,  I  should  not  have 
wondered  at  his  becoming  enamoured  of  the  moon. 
But  it  is  not  the  Queen  of  Night  alone  who  reigns  here 
in  all  her  splendour,  though  the  sun,  loitering  just 
below  the  horizon,  decks  her  with  a  gold  u  tiuyo 


54  LETTERS   ON    SWEDEN, 

from  his  car,  illuminating  the  cliffs  ihat  hide  him ;  the 
heavens  also,  of  a  clear  softened  blue,  throw  her  for- 
ward, and  the  evening  star  appears  a  smaller  moon  to 
the  naked  eye.  The  huge  shadows  of  the  rocks,  fringed 
with  firs,  concentrating  the  views  without  darkening 
them,  excited  that  tender  melancholy  which,  sublimating 
the  imagination,  exalts  rather  than  depresses  the  mind. 

My  companions  fell  asleep — fortunately  they  did  not 
snore ;  and  I  contemplated,  fearless  of  idle  questions,  a 
night  such  as  I  had  never  before  seen  or  felt,  to  charm 
the  senses,  and  calm  the  heart.  The  very  air  was  balmy 
as  it  freshened  into  morn,  producing  the  most  volup- 
tuous sensations.  A  vague  pleasurable  sentiment  ab- 
sorbed me,  as  I  opened  my  bosom  to  the  embraces  of 
nature ;  and  my  soul  rose  to  its  Author,  with  the 
chirping  of  the  solitary  birds,  which  began  to  feel, 
rather  than  see,  advancing  day.  I  had  leisure  to  mark 
its  progress.  The  grey  morn,  streaked  with  silvery 
rays,  ushered  in  the  orient  beams)  how  beautifully 
varying  into  purple  !),  yet  I  was  sorry  to  lose  the  soft 
watery  clouds  which  preceded  them,  exciting  a  kind  of 
expectation  that  made  me  almost  afraid  to  breathe,  lest 
I  should  break  the  charm.  I  saw  the  sun — and  sighed. 

One  of  my  companions,  now  awake,  perceiving  that 
the  postillion  had  mistaken  the  road,  began  to  swear  at 
him,  and  roused  the  other  two,  who  reluctantly  shook 
off:  sleep. 

We  had  immediately  to  measure  back  our  steps,  and 
did  not  reach  Stronistad  before  five  in  the  morning. 

The  wind  had  changed  in  the  night,  and  my  boat 
was  ready. 


NORWAY,   AND    DENMARK.  55 

A  dish  of  coffee,  and  fresh  lineii,  recruited  my  spirits, 
and  I  directly  set  out  again  for  Norway,  purposing  to 
land  much  higher  up  the  coast. 

Wrapping  my  great-coat  round  me,  I  lay  down  o  n 
some  sails  at  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  its  motion  rocking 
me  to  rest,  till  a  discourteous  wave  interrupted  my 
slumbers,  and  obliged  me  to  rise  and  feel  a  solitariness 
which  was  not  so  soothing  as  that  of  the  past  night. 
Adieu  ! 


LETTER  VI. 

THE  sea  was  boisterous,  but,  as  I  had  an  experienced 
pilot,  I  did  not  apprehend  any  danger.  Sometimes,  I 
was  told,  boats  are  driven  far  out  and  lost.  However, 
I  seldom  calculate  chances  so  nicely — sufficient  for  the 
day  is  the  obvious  evil  ! 

We  had  to  steer  amongst  islands  and  huge  rocks, 
rarely  losing  sight  of  the  shore,  though  it  now  and 
then  appeared  only  a  mist  that  bordered  the  water's 
edge.  The  pilot  assured  me  that  the  numerous  har- 
bours on  the  Norway  coast  were  very  safe,  and  the 
pilot-boats  were  always  on  the  watch.  The  Swedish 
side  is  very  dangerous,  I  am  also  informed ;  and  the 
help  of  experience  is  not  often  at  hand  to  enable 
strange  vessels  to  steer  clear  of  the  rocks,  which  lurk 
below  the  water  close  to  the  shore. 

There  are  no  tides  here,  nor  in  the  Cattegate,  and, 
what  appeared  to  me  a  conseoueuce,  no  sandy  beach. 


56  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

Perhaps  this  observation  has  been  made  before ;  but  it 
did  not  occur  to  me  till  I  saw  the  waves  continually 
beating  against  the  bare  rocks,  without  ever  receding  to 
leave  a  sediment  to  harden. 

The  wind  was  fair,  till  we  had  to  tack  about  in 
order  to  enter  Laurvig,  where  we  arrived  towards 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  It  is  a  clean,  pleasant 
town,  with  a  considerable  iron-work,  which  gives  life 
to  it. 

As  the  Norwegians  do  not  frequently  see  travellers, 
they  are  very  curious  to  know  their  business,  and  who 
they  are — so  curious,  that  I  was  half  tempted  to  adopt 
Dr.  Franklin's  plan,  when  travelling  in  America,  where 
they  are  equally  prying,  which  was  to  write  on  a  paper, 
for  public  inspection,  my  name,  from  whence  I  came, 
where  I  was  going,  and  what  was  my  business.  But  if 
I  were  importuned  by  their  curiosity,  their  friendly 
gestures  gratified  me.  A  woman  coming  alone  inter- 
ested them.  And  I  know  not  whether  my  weariness 
gave  me  a  look  of  peculiar  delicacy,  but  they  ap- 
proached to  assist  me,  and  inquire  after  my  wants,  as 
if  they  were  afraid  to  hurt,  and  wished  to  protect  me. 
The  sympathy  I  inspired,  thus  dropping  down  from  the 
clouds  in  a  strange  land,  affected  me  more  than  it 
would  have  done  had  not  my  spirits  been  harassed  by 
various  causes — by  much  thinking — musing  almost  to 
madness— and  even  by  a  sort  of  weak  melancholy  that 
hung  about  my  heart  at  parting  with  my  daughter  for 
the  first  time. 

You  know  that,  as  a  female,  I  am  particularly  at- 
i ached  to  her;  I  feel  more  than  a  mother's  fondness 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  67 

and  anxiety  when  I  reflect  on  the  dependent  and  op- 
pressed state  of  her  sex.  I  dread  lest  she  should  lie 
forced  to  sacrifice  her  heart  to  her  principles,  or  prin- 
ciples to  her  heart.  With  trembling  hand  I  shall  cul- 
tivate sensibility  and  cherish  delicacy  of  sentiment, 
lest,  whilst  I  lend  fresh  blushes  to  the  rose,  I  sharpen 
the  thorns  that  will  wound  the  breast  I  would  fain 
guard;  I  dread  to  unfold  her  mind,  lest  it  should 
render  her  unfit  for  the  world  she  is  to  inhabit. 
Hapless  woman  !  what  a  fate  is  thine  ! 

But  whither  am  I  wandering  ?  I  only  meant  to  tell 
you  that  the  impression  the  kindness  of  the  simple 
people  made  visible  on  my  countenance  increased  my 
sensibility  to  a  painful  degree.  I  wished  to  have  had 
a  room  to  myself,  for  their  attention,  and  rather  dis- 
tressing observation,  embarrassed  me  extremely.  Yet, 
as  they  would  bring  me  eggs,  and  make  my  coffee,  I 
found  I  could  not  leave  them  without  hurting  their 
feelings  of  hospitality. 

It  is  customary  here  for  the  host  and  hostess  to  wel- 
come their  guests  as  master  and  mistress  of  the  IIOM  v. 

My  clothes,  in  their  turn,  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  females,  and  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  the  foolisli 
vanity  which  makes  many  women  so  proud  of  the  ob- 
servation of  strangers  as  to  take  wonder  very  gratui- 
tously for  admiration.  This  error  they  are  very  apt  to 
fall  into  when,  arrived  in  a  foreign  country,  the  popu- 
lace stare  at  them  as  they  pass.  Yet  the  make  of  a  cap 
or  the  singularity  of  a  gown  is  often  the  cause  of  the 
flattering  attention  which  afterwards  supports  a  fan- 
tastic superstructure  of  self-conceit. 


58  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

Not  having  brought  a  carriage  over  with  me,  expect- 
ing to  have  met  a  person  where  I  landed,  who  was  im- 
mediately to  have  procured  me  one,  I  was  detained 
whilst  the  good  people  of  the  inn  sent  round  to  all  their 
acquaintance  to  search  for  a  vehicle.  A  rude  sort  of 
cabriole  was  at  last  found,  and  a  driver  half  drunk, 
who  was  not  less  eager  to  make  a  good  bargain  on  that 
account.  I  had  a  Danish  captain  of  a  ship  and  his 
mate  with  me  ;  the  former  was  to  ride  on  horseback,  at 
which  he  was  not  very  expert,  and  the  latter  to  partake 
of  my  seat.  The  driver  mounted  behind  to  guide  the 
horses  and  flourish  the  whip  over  our  shoulders;  he 
would  not  suffer  the  reins  out  of  his  own  hands.  There 
was  something  so  grotesque  in  our  appearance  that  I 
could  not  avoid  shrinking  into  myself  when  I  saw  a 
gentleman-like  man  in  the  group  which  crowded  round 
the  door  to  observe  us.  I  could  have  broken  the  driver's 
whip  for  cracking  to  call  the  women  and  children  to- 
gether, but  seeing  a  significant  smile  on  the  face,  I  had 
before  remarked,  I  burst  into  a  laugh  to  allow  him  to 
do  so  too,  and  away  we  flew.  This  is  not  a  flourish  of 
the  pen,  for  we  actually  went  on  full  gallop  a  long 
time,  the  horses  being  very  good ;  indeed,  I  have  never 
met  with  better,  if  so  good,  post-horses  as  in  Norway. 
They  are  of  a  stouter  make  than  the  English  horses, 
appear  to  be  well  fed,  and  are  not  easily  tired. 

I  had  to  pass  over,  I  was  informed,  the  most  fertile 
and  best  cultivated  tract  of  country  in  Norway.  The 
distance  was  three  Norwegian  miles,  which  are  longer 
than  the  Swedish.  The  roads  were  very  good;  the 
farmers  are  obliged  to  repair  them  ;  and  we  scampered 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  59 

through  a  great  extent  of  country  in  a  more  improved 
state  than  any  I  had  viewed  since  I  left  England.  Still 
there  was  sufficient  of  hills,  dales,  and  rocks  to  prevent 
the  idea  of  a  plain  from  entering  the  head,  or  even  of 
such  scenery  as  England  and  France  aft'ord.  The  pro- 
spects were  also  embellished  by  water,  rivers,  and  lakes 
before  the  sea  proudly  claimed  my  regard,  and  the  road 
running  frequently  through  lofty  groves  rendered  the 
landscapes  beautiful,  though  they  were  not  so  romantic 
as  those  I  had  lately  seen  with  such  delight. 

It  was  late  when  I  reached  Tonsberg,  and  I  was  glad 
to  go  to  bed  at  a  decent  inn.  The  next  morning,  the 
17th  of  July,  conversing  with  the  gentleman  with 
whom  I  had  business  to  transact,  I  found  that  I  should 
be  detained  at  Tonsberg  three  weeks,  and  I  lamented 
that  I  had  not  brought  my  child  with  me. 

The  inn  was  quiet,  and  my  room  so  pleasant,  com- 
manding a  view  of  the  sea,  confined  by  an  amphitheatre 
of  hanging  woods,  that  I  wished  to  remain  there,  though 
no  one  in  the  house  could  speak  English  or  French. 
The  mayor,  my  friend,  however,  sent  a  young  woman 
to  me  who  spoke  a  little  English,  and  she  agreed  to 
call  on  me  twice  a  day  to  receive  my  orders  and  trans- 
late them  to  my  hostess. 

My  not  understanding  the  language  was  an  excellent 
pretext  for  dining  alone,  which  I  prevailed  on  them  to 
let.  me  do  at  a  late  hour,  for  the  early  dinners  in  Sweden 
had  entirely  deranged  my  day.  I  could  not  alter  it 
there  without  disturbing  the  economy  of  a  family  where 
I  was  as  a  visitor,  necessity  having  forced  me  to  accept 


60  LETTERS  ON  SWEDEN, 

of  aii  invitation  from  a  private  family,  the  lodgings 
were  so  incommodious. 

Amongst  the  Norwegians  I  had  the  arrangement  of 
my  own  time,  and  I  determined  to  regulate  it  in  such 
a  manner  that  I  might  enjoy  as  much  of  their  sweet 
summer  as  I  possibly  could;  short,  it  is  true,  but 
"  passing  sweet." 

I  never  endured  a  winter  in  this  rude  clime,  conse- 
quently it*  was  not  the  contrast,  but  the  real  beauty  of 
the  season  which  made  the  present  summer  appear  to 
me  the  finest  I  had  ever  seen.  Sheltered  from  the 
north  and  eastern  winds,  nothing  can  exceed  the  salu- 
brity, the  soft  freshness  of  the  western  gales.  In  the 
evening  they  also  die  away ;  the  aspen  leaves  tremble 
into  stillness,  and  reposing  nature  seems  to  be  warmed 
by  the  moon,  which  here  assumes  a  genial  aspect.  And 
if  a  light  shower  has  chanced  to  fall  with  the  sun,  the 
juniper,  the  underwood  of  the  forest,  exhales  a  wild 
perfume,  mixed  with  a  thousand  nameless  sweets  that, 
soothing  the  heart,  leave  images  in  the  memory  which 
the  imagination  will  ever  hold  dear. 

Nature  is  the  nurse  of  sentiment,  the  true  source  of 
taste ;  yet  what  misery,  as  well  as  rapture,  is  produced 
by  a  quick  perception  of  the  beautiful  and  sublime 
when  it  is  exercised  in  observing  animated  nature, 
when  every  beauteous  feeling  and  emotion  excites  re- 
sponsive sympathy,  and  the  harmonised  soul  sinks  into 
melancholy  or  rises  to  ecstasy,  just  as  the  chords  are 
touched,  like  the  JEoliau  harp  agitated  by  the  changing 
wind.  But  how  dangerous  is  it  to  foster  these  senti- 
ments in  such  an  imperfect  state  of  existence,  and  how 


NORWAY,  AND   DENMARK,  61 

difficult  to  eradicate  them  when  an  affection  for  man- 
kind, a  passion  for  an  individual,  is  but  the  unfolding 
of  that  love  which  embraces  all  that  is  great  and 
beautiful ! 

When  a  warm  heart  has  received  strong  impressions, 
they  are  not  to  be  effaced.  Emotions  become  senti- 
ments, and  the  imagination  renders  even  transient  sen- 
satious  permanent  by  fondly  retracing  them.  I  cannot, 
without  a  thrill  of  delight,  recollect  views  I  have  seen, 
which  are  not  to  be  forgotten,  nor  looks  I  have  felt  in 
every  nerve,  which  I  shall  never  more  meet.  The  grave 
has  closed  over  a  clear  friend,  the  friend  of  my  youth. 
Still  she  is  present  with  me,  and  I  hear  her  soft  voice 
warbling  as  I  stray  over  the  heath.  Fate  has  separated 
me  from  another,  the  fire  of  whose  eyes,  tempered  by 
infantine  tenderness,  still  warms  my  breast;  even  when 
gazing  on  these  tremendous  cliffs  sublime  emotions 
absorb  my  soul.  And,  smile  not,  if  I  add  that  the  rosy 
tint  of  morning  reminds  me  of  a  suffusion  which  will 
never  more  charm  my  senses,  unless  it  reappears  on  the 
cheeks  of  my  child.  Her  sweet  blushes  I  may  yet  hide 
in  my  bosom,  and. she  is  still  too  young  to  ask  why 
starts  the  tear  so  near  akin  to  pleasure  and  pain. 

I  cannot  write  any  more  at  present.  To-morrow  we 
will  talk  of  Tonsberg. 


LETTERS  ON   SWEDEN, 


LETTER    VII. 

THOUGH  the  king  of  Denmark  be  an  absolute  monarch, 
yet  the  Norwegians  appear  to  enjoy  all  the  blessings  of 
freedom.  Norway  may  be  termed  a  sister  kingdom ; 
but  the  people  have  no  viceroy  to  lord  it  over  them, 
and  fatten  his  dependants  with  the  fruit  of  their 
labour. 

There  are  only  two  counts  in  the  whole  country  who 
have  estates,  and  exact  some  feudal  observances  from 
their  tenantry.  All  the  rest  of  the  country  is  divided 
into  small  farms,  which  belong  to  the  cultivator.  It 
is  true  some  few,  appertaining  to  the  Church,  are  let, 
but  always  on  a  lease  for  life,  generally  renewed  in 
favour  of  the  eldest  son,  who  has  this  advantage  as 
well  as  a  right  to  a  double  portion  of  the  property. 
But  the  value  of  the  farm  is  estimated,  and  after  his 
portion  is  assigned  to  him  he  must  be  answerable  for 
the  residue  to  the  remaining  part  of  the  family. 

Every  farmer  for  ten  years  is  obliged  to  attend 
annually  about  twelve  days  to  learn  the  military  exer- 
cise, but  it  is  always  at  a  small  distance  from  his 
dwelling,  and  does  not  lead  him  into  any  new  habits 
of  life. 

There  are  about  six  thousand  regulars  also  in  garri- 
son at  Christiania  and  Fredericshall,  who  are  equally 
reserved,  with  the  militia,  for  the  defence  of  their  own 
country.  So  that  when  the  Prince  Royal  passed  into 
Sweden  in  1788,  he  was  obliged  to  request,  not  com- 
mand, them  to  accompany  him  on  this  expedition. 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  63 

These  corps  arc  mostly  composed  of  the  sons  of  the 
cottagers,  who  being  labourers  on  the  farms,  are 
allowed  a  few  acres  to  cultivate  for  themselves. 
These  men  voluntarily  enlist,  but  it  is  only  for  a 
limited  period  (six  years),  at  the  expiration  of  which 
they  have  the  liberty  of  retiring.  The  pay  is  only 
twopence  a  day  and  bread;  still,  considering  the 
cheapness  of  the  country,  it  is  more  than  sixpence  in 
England. 

The  distribution  of  landed  property  into  small  farms 
produces  a  degree  of  equality  which  I  have  seldom 
seen  elsewhere ;  and  the  rich  being  all  merchants,  who 
are  obliged  to  divide  their  personal  fortune  amongst 
their  children,  the  boys  always  receiving  twice  as  much 
as  the  girls,  property  has  not  a  chance  of  accumu- 
lating till  overgrowing  wealth  destroys  the  balance 
of  liberty. 

Tou  will  be  surprised  to  hear  me  talk  of  liberty ; 
yet  the  Norwegians  appear  to  me  to  be  the  most  free 
community  I  have  ever  observed. 

The  mayor  of  each  town  or  district,  and  the  judges 
in  the  country,  exercise  an  authority  almost  patriarchal. 
They  can  do  much  good,  but  little  harm,  as  every 
individual  can  appeal  from  their  judgment;  and  as 
they  may  always  be  forced  to  give  a  reason  for  their 
conduct,  it  is  generally  regulated  by  prudence.  "  They 
have  not  time  to  learn  to  be  tyrants,"  said  a  gentleman 
to  me,  with  whom  I  discussed  the  subject. 

The  farmers  not  fearing  to  be  turned  out  of  their 
farms,  should  they  displease  a  man  in  power,  and 
having  no  vote  to  be  commanded  at  an  election  for 


64  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

a  mock  representative,  are  a  manly  race  ;  for  not  being 
obliged  to  submit  to  any  debasing  tenure  in  order  to 
live,  or  advance  themselves  in  the  world,  they  act  with 
an  independent  spirit.  I  never  yet  have  heard  oc  any- 
thing like  domineering  or  oppression,  excepting  such 
as  has  arisen  from  natural  causes.  The  freedom  the 
people  enjoy  may,  perhaps,  render  them  a  little  litigi- 
ous, and  subject  them  to  the  impositions  of  cunning 
practitioners  of  the  law  ;  but  the  authority  of  office  is 
bounded,  and  the  emoluments  of  it  do  not  destroy  its 
utility. 

Last  year  a  man  who  had  abused  his  power  was 
cashiered,  on  the  representation  of  the  people  to  the 
bailiff  of  the  district. 

There  are  four  in  Norway  who  might  with  propriety 
be  termed  sheriffs  ;  and  from  their  sentence  an  appeal, 
by  either  party,  may  bo  made  to  Copenhagen. 

Near  most  of  the  towns  are  commons,  on  which  the 
cows  of  all  the  inhabitants,  indiscriminately,  are 
allowed  to  graze.  The  poor,  to  whom  a  cow  is  neces- 
sary, are  almost  supported  by  it.  Besides,  to  render 
living  more  easy,  they  all  go  out  to  fish  in  their  own 
boats,  and  fish  is  their  principal  food. 

The  lower  class  of  people  in  the  towns  are  in  general 
sailors  ;  and  the  industrious  have  iisually  little  ventures 
of  their  own  that  serve  to  render  the  winter  com- 
fortable. 

With  respect  to  the  country  at  large,  the  importation 
is  considerably  in  favour  of  Norway. 

They  are  forbidden,  at  present,  to  export  corn  or  rye 
on  accoimt  of  the  advanced  price. 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  G5 

The  restriction  which  most  resembles  the  painful 
subordination  of  Ireland,  is  that  vessels,  trading  to  tlie 
West  Indies,  are  obliged  to  pass  by  their  own  ports, 
and  unload  their  cargoes  at  Copenhagen,  which  they 
afterwards  re-ship.  The  duty  is  indeed  inconsiderable, 
but  the  navigation  being  dangerous,  they  run  a  double 
risk. 

There  is  an  excise  on  all  articles  of  consumption 
brought  to  the  towns ;  but  the  officers  are  not  strict, 
and  it  would  be  reckoned  invidious  to  enter  a  house  to 
search,  as  in  England. 

The  Norwegians  appear  to  mo  a  sensible,  shrewd 
people,  with  little  scientific  knowledge,  and  still  less 
taste  for  literature  ;  but  they  are  arriving  at  the 
epoch  which  precedes  tho  introduction  of  the  arts 
and  sciences. 

Most  of  the  towns  are  seaports,  and  seaports  are  not 
favourable  to  improvement.  The  captains  acquire  a 
little  superficial  knowledge  by  travelling,  which  their 
indefatigable  attention  to  the  making  of  money  pre- 
vents their  digesting ;  and  the  fortune  that  they  thus 
laboriously  acquire  is  spent,  as  it  usually  is  in  towns 
of  this  description,  in  show  and  good  living.  They 
love  their  country,  but  have  not  much  public  spirit. 
Their  exertions  are,  generally  speaking,  only  for  their 
families,  which,  I  conceive,  will  always  be  the  case, 
till  politics,  becoming  a  subject  of  discussion,  enlarges 
the  heart  by  opening  the  understanding.  The  French 
Revolution  will  have  this  effect.  They  sing,  at  pre- 
sent, with  great  glee,  many  Republican  songs,  and 
seem  earnestly  to  wish  that  tho  Republic  may  stand; 
c— 188 


yet  they  appear  very  much  attached  to  their  Prince 
E-oyal,  and,  as  far  as  rumour  can  give  an  idea  of  a 
character,  he  appears  to  merit  their  attachment.  When 
I  am  at  Copenhagen,  I  shall  be  able  to  ascertain  on 
what  foundation  their  good  opinion  is  built ;  at  present 
I  am  only  the  echo  of  it. 

In  the  year  1788  he  travelled  through  Norway ;  and 
acts  of  mercy  gave  dignity  to  the  parade,  and  interest- 
to  the  joy  his  presence  inspired.  At  this  town  he 
pardoned  a  girl  condemned  to  die  for  murdering  an 
illegitimate  child,  a  crime  seldom  committed  in  this 
country.  She  is  since  married,  and  become  the  careful 
mother  of  a  family.  This  might  be  given  as  an  instance, 
that  a  desperate  act  is  not  always  a  proof  of  an  incor- 
rigible depravity  of  character,  the  only  plausible  excuse 
that  has  been  brought  forward  to  justify  the  infliction 
of  capital  punishments. 

I  will  relate  two  or  three  other  anecdotes  to  you,  for 
the  truth  of  which  I  will  not  vouch  because  the  facts 
were  not  of  sufficient  consequence  for  me  to  take  much 
pains  to  ascertain  them ;  and,  true  or  false,  they  evince 
that  the  people  like  to  make  a  kind  of  mistress  of  their 
prince. 

An  officer,  mortally  wounded  at  the  ill-advised  battle 
of  Quistram,  desired  to  speak  with  the  prince;  and 
with  his  dying  breath,  earnestly  recommended  to  his 
care  a  young  woman  of  Christiania,  to  whom  he  was 
engaged.  When  the  prince  returned  there,  a  ball  was 
given  by  the  chief  inhabitants :  he  inquired  whether 
this  unfortunate  girl  was  invited,  and  requested  that 
she  might,  though  of  the  second  class.  The  girl  came; 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  67 

she  was  pretty ;  and  finding  herself  among  lier  supe- 
riors, bashfully  sat  down  as  near  the  door  as  possible, 
nobody  taking  notice  of  her.  Shortly  after,  the  prince 
entering,  immediately  inquired  for  her,  and  asked  her 
to  dance,  to  the  mortification  of  the  rich  dames.  After 
it  was  over  he  handed  her  to  the  top  of  the  room,  and 
placing  himself  by  her,  spoke  of  the  loss  she  had 
sustained,  with  tenderness,  promising  to  provide  for 
anyone  she  should  marry,  as  the  story  goes.  She 
is  since  married,  and  he  has  not  forgotten  his 
promise. 

A  little  girl,  during  the  same  expedition,  in  Sweden, 
who  informed  him  that  the  logs  of  a  bridge  were  cut 
underneath,  was  taken  by  his  orders  to  Christiania,  and 
put  to  school  at  his  expense. 

Before  I  retail  other  beneficial  effects  of  his  journey, 
it  is  necessary  to  inform  you  that  the  laws  here  are 
mild,  and  do  not  punish  capitally  for  any  crime  but 
murder,  which  seldom  occurs.  Every  other  offence 
merely  subjects  the  delinquent  to  imprisonment  and 
labour  in  the  castle,  or  rather  arsenal  at  Christiania, 
and  the  fortress  at  Fredericshall.  The  first  and  second 
conviction  produces  a  sentence  for  a  limited  number  of 
years — two,  three,  five,  or  seven,  proportioned  to  the 
atrocity  of  the  crime.  After  the  third  he  is  whipped, 
branded  in  the  forehead,  and  condemned  to  perpetual 
slavery.  This  is  the  ordinary  course  of  justice.  For 
some  flagrant  breaches  of  trust,  or  acts  of  wanton 
cruelty,  criminals  have  been  condemned  to  slavery  for 
life  the  first  time  of  conviction,  but  not  frequently. 
The  number  of  these  slaves  do  not,  I  am  informed, 


G8  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

amount  to  more  than  a  hundred,  which  is  not  consider- 
able, compared  with  the  population,  upwards  of  eight 
hundred  thousand.  Should  I  pass  through  Christiania, 
on  my  return  to  Gothenburg,  I  shall  probably  have  an 
opportunity  of  learning  other  particulars. 

There  is  also  a  House  of  Correction  at  Christiaiiia  for 
trifling  misdemeanours,  where  the  women  are  confined 
to  labour  and  imprisonment  even  for  life.  The  state 
of  the  prisoners  was  represented  to  the  prince,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  visited  the  arsenal  and  House 
of  Correction.  The  slaves  at  the  arsenal  were  loaded 
with  irons  of  a  great  weight ;  he  ordered  them  to  bo 
lightened  as  much  as  possible. 

The  people  in  the  House  of  Correction  were  com- 
manded not  to  speak  to  him;  but  four  women,  con- 
demned to  remain  there  for  life,  got  into  the  passage, 
and  fell  at  his  feet.  He  granted  them  a  pardon ;  and 
inquiring  respecting  the  treatment  of  the  prisoners,  ho 
was  informed  that  they  were  frequently  whipped  going 
in,  and  coming  out,  and  for  any  fault,  at  the  discretion 
of  the  inspectors.  This  custom  he  humanely  abolished, 
though  some  of  the  principal  inhabitants,  whose  situa- 
tion in  life  had  raised  them  above  the  temptation  of 
stealing,  were  of  opinion  that  these  chastisements  were 
necessary  and  wholesome. 

In  short,  everything  seems  to  announce  that  the 
prince  really  cherishes  the  laudable  ambition  of  ful- 
filling the  duties  of  his  station.  This  ambition  is 
cherished  and  directed  by  the  Count  Bernstorf,  the 
Prime  Minister  of  Denmark,  who  is  universally  cele- 
brated for  his  abilities  and  virtue.  The  happiness  of 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  69 

the  people  is  a  substantial  eulogiom ;  and,  from  all  I 
can  gather,  the  inhabitants  of  Denmark  and  Norway 
are  the  least  oppressed  people  of  Europe.  The  press  is 
free.  They  translate  any  of  the  French  publications  of 
the  day,  deliver  their  opinion  on  the  subject,  and  discuss 
those  it  leads  to  with  great  freedom,  and  without  fear- 
ing to  displease  the  Government. 

On  the  subject  of  religion  they  are  likewise  be- 
coming tolerant,  at  least,  and  perhaps  have  advanced  a 
step  further  in  free-thinking.  One  writer  has  ventured 
to  deny  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  question 
the  necessity  or  utility  of  the  Christian  system,  without 
being  considered  universally  as  a  monster,  which  would 
have  been  the  case  a  few  years  ago.  They  have  trans- 
lated many  German  works  on  education ;  and  though 
they  have  not  adopted  any  of  their  plans,  it  has  become 
a  subject  of  discussion.  There  are  some  grammar  and 
free  schools;  but,  from  what  I  hear,  not  very  good 
ones.  All  the  children  learn  to  read,  write,  and  cast 
accounts,  for  the  purposes  of  common  life.  They  have 
no  university ;  and  nothing  that  deserves  the  name  of 
science  is  taught ;  nor  do  individuals,  by  pursuing  any 
branch  of  knowledge,  excite  a  degree  of  curiosity 
which  is  the  forerunner  of  improvement.  Knowledge 
is  not  absolutely  necessary  to  enable  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  community  to  live  ;  and,  till  it  is,  I  fear 
it  never  becomes  general. 

In  this  country,  where  minerals  abound,  there  is  not 
one  collection ;  and,  in  all  probability,  I  venture  a  con- 
jecture, the  want  of  mechanical  and  chemical  knowledge 
renders  the  silver  mines  unproductive,  for  the  quantity 


70  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

of  silver  obtained  every  year  is  not  sufficient  to  defray 
the  expenses.  It  has  been  urged  that  the  employment 
of  such  a  number  of  hands  is  very  beneficial.  But  a 
positive  loss  is  never  to  be  done  away ;  and  the  men, 
thus  employed,  would  naturally  find  some  other  means 
of  living,  instead  of  being  thus  a  dead  weight  on 
Government,  or  rather  on  the  community  from  whom 
its  revenue  is  drawn. 

About  three  English  miles  from  Toiisberg  there  is  a 
salt  work,  belonging,  like  all  their  establishments,  to 
Government,  in  which  they  employ  above  a  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  and  maintain  nearly  five  hundred  people,  who 
earn  their  living.  The  clear  profit,  an  increasing  one, 
amounts  to  two  thousand  pounds  sterling.  And  as  the 
eldest  son  of  the  inspector,  an  ingenious  young  man, 
has  been  sent  by  the  Government  to  travel,  and 
acquire  some  mathematical  and  chemical  knowledge  in 
Germany,  it  has  a  chance  of  being  improved.  He  is 
the  only  person  I  have  met  with  here  who  appears  to 
have  a  scientific  turn  of  mind.  I  do  not  mean  to  assert 
that  I  have  not  met  with  others  who  have  a  spirit  of 
inquiry. 

The  salt-works  at  St.  Ubes  are  basins  in  the  sand, 
and  the  sun  produces  the  evaporation,  but  here  there 
is  no  beach.  Besides,  the  heat  of  summer  is  so  short- 
lived that  it  would  be  idle  to  contrive  machines  for 
such  an  inconsiderable  portion  of  the  year.  They 
therefore  always  use  fires ;  and  the  whole  establishment 
appears  to  be  regulated  with  judgment. 

The  situation  is  well  chosen  and  beautiful.  I  do  not 
find,  from  the  observation  of  a  person  who  has  resided 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  71 

here  for  forty  years,  that  the  sea  advances  or  recedes  on 
this  coast. 

I  have  already  remarked  that  little  attention  is  paid 
to  education,  excepting  reading,  writing,  and  the  rudi- 
ments of  arithmetic ;  I  ought  to  have  added  that  a 
catechism  is  carefully  taught,  and  the  children  obliged 
to  read  in  the  churches,  before  the  congregation,  to 
prove  that  they  are  not  neglected. 

Degrees,  to  enable  any  one  to  practise  any  profession, 
must  be  taken  at  Copenhagen ;  and  the  people  of  this 
country,  having  the  good  sense  to  perceive  that  men 
who  are  to  live  in  a  community  should  at  least  acquire 
the  elements  of  their  knowledge,  and  form  their 
youthful  attachments  there,  are  seriously  endeavouring 
to  establish  a  university  in  Norway.  And  Tonsberg, 
as  a  central  place  in  the  best  part  of  the  country,  had 
the  most  suffrages,  for,  experiencing  the  bad  effects  of 
a  metropolis,  they  have  determined  not  to  have  it  in  or 
near  Christiania.  Should  such  an  establishment  take 
place,  it  will  promote  inquiry  throughout  the  country, 
and  give  a  new  face  to  society.  Premiums  have  been 
offered,  and  prize  questions  written,  which  I  am  told 
have  merit.  The  building  college-halls,  and  other 
appendages  of  the  seat  df  science,  might  enable  Tons- 
berg  to  recover  its  pristine  consequence,  for  it  is  one 
of  the  most  ancient  towns  of  Norway,  and  once  con- 
tained nine  churches.  At  present  there  are  only  two. 
One  is  a  very  old  structure,  and  has  a  Gothic  respecta- 
bility about  it,  which  scarcely  amounts  to  grandeur, 
because,  to  render  a  Gothic  pile  grand,  it  must  have  a 
a  huge  unwieldiness  of  appearance.  The  chapel  o.' 


72  LUTTEKS   ON   SWEDEN, 

Windsor  may  be  an  exception  to  this  rule ;  I  mean 
before  it  was  in  its  present  nice,  clean  state.  When  I 
first  saw  it,  the  pillars  within  had  acquired,  by  time, 
a  sombre  hue,  which  accorded  with  the  architecture ; 
and  the  gloom  increased  its  dimensions  to  the*  eye  by 
hiding  its  parts ;  but  now  it  all  bursts  on  the  view  at 
once,  and  the  sublimity  has  vanished  before  the  brush 
and  broom ;  for  it  has  been  white-washed  and  scraped 
till  it  has  become  as  bright  and  neat  as  the  pots  and 
pans  in  a  notable  house-wife's  kitchen — yes ;  the  very 
spurs  on  the  recumbent  knights  were  deprived  of  their 
venerable  rust,  to  give  a  striking  proof  that  a  love  of 
order  in  trifles,  and  taste  for  proportion  and  arrange- 
ment, are  very  distinct.  The  glare  of  light  thus 
introduced  entirely  destroys  the  sentiment  these  piles 
are  calculated  to  inspire ;  so  that,  when  I  heard  some- 
thing like  a  jig  from  the  organ-loft,  I  thought  it  an 
excellent  hall  for  dancing  or  feasting.  The  measured 
pace  of  thought  with  which  I  had  entered  the  cathedral 
changed  into  a  trip  ;  and  I  bounded  on  the  terrace,  to 
see  the  royal  family,  with  a  number  of  ridiculous 
images  in  my  head  that  I  shall  not  now  recall. 

The  Norwegians  are  fond  of  music,  and  every  little 
church  has  an  organ.  In  the  church  I  have  men- 
tioned there  is  an  inscription  importing  that  a  king — 
James  YI.  of  Scotland  and  I.  of  England,  who 
came  with  more  than  princely  gallantry  to  escort  his 
bride  home — stood  there,  and  heard  divine  service. 

There  is  a  little  recess  full  of  coffins,  which  contains 
bodies  embalmed  long  since — so  long,  that  there  is  not 
even  a  tradition  to  lead  to  a  guess  at  their  names. 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  73 

A  desire  of  preserving  the  body  seems  to  have  pre- 
vailed in  most  countries  of  the  world,  futile  as  it  is  to 
term  it  a  preservation,  when  the  noblest  parts  are  im- 
mediately sacrificed  merely  to  save  the  muscles,  skin, 
aud  bone  from  rottenness.  When  I  was  shown  these 
human  petrifactions,  I  shrank  back  with  disgust  and 
horror.  "Ashes  to  ashes!"  thought  I— "Dust  to 
dust ! "  If  this  be  not  dissolution,  it  is  something 
worse  than  natural  decay — it  is  treason  against  hu- 
manity, thus  to  lift  up  the  awful  veil  which  would 
fain  hide  its  weakness.  The  grandeur  of  the  active 
principle  is  never  more  strongly  felt  than  at  such  a 
sight,  for  nothing  is  so  ugly  as  the  human  form  when 
deprived  of  life,  and  thus  dried  into  stone,  merely  to 
preserve  the  most  disgusting  image  of  death.  The 
contemplation  of  noble  ruins  produces  a  melancholy 
that  exalts  the  mind.  We  take  a  retrospect  of  the 
exertions  of  man,  the  fate  of  empires  and  their  rulers, 
and  marking  the  grand  destruction  of  ages,  it  seems 
the  necessary  change  of  time  leading  to  improvement. 
Our  very  soul  expands,  and  we  forget  our  littleness — 
how  painfully  brought  to  our  recollection  by  such  vain 
attempts  to  snatch  from  decay  what  is  destined  so  soon 
to  perish.  Life,  what  art  thou?  Where  goes  this 
breath  ? — this  I,  so  much  alive  ?  In  what  element 
will  it  mix,  giving  or  receiving  fresh  energy  ?  What 
will  break  the  enchantment  of  animation  ?  For  worlds 
I  would  not  see  a  form  I  loved — embalmed  in  my  heart 
— thus  sacrilegiously  handled?  Pugh  !  my  stomach 
turns.  Is  this  all  the  distinction  of  the  rich  in  the 
grave  ?  They  had  better  quietly  allow  the  scythe  of 


74  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

equality  to  mow  them  down  with  the  common  mass, 
than  struggle  to  become  a  monument  of  the  instability 
of  human  greatness. 

The  teeth,  nails,  and  skin  were  whole,  without  ap- 
pearing black  like  the  Egyptian  mummies  ;  and  some 
silk,  in  which  they  had  been  wrapped,  still  preserved 
its  colour — pink — with  tolerable  freshness. 

I  could  not  learn  how  long  the  bodies  had  been  in 
this  state,  in  which  they  bid  fair  to  remain  till  the  Day 
of  Judgment,  if  there  is  to  be  such  a  day ;  and  before 
that  time,  it  will  require  some  trouble  to  make  them  fit 
to  appear  in  company  with  angels  without  disgracing 
humanity.  God  bless  you  !  I  feel  a  conviction  that  we 
have  some  perfectible  principle  in  our  present  vest- 
ment, which  will  not  be  destroyed  just  as  we  begin  to 
be  sensible  of  improvement ;  and  I  care  not  what  habit 
it  next  puts  on,  sure  that  it  will  be  wisely  formed  to 
suit  a  higher  state  of  existence.  Thinking  of  death 
makes  us  tenderly  cling  to  our  affections ;  with  more 
than  usual  tenderness  I  therefore  assure  you  that  I  ana 
yours,  wishing  that  the  temporary  death  of  absence 
may  not  endure  longer  than  is  absolutely  necessary. 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  75 


LETTER    VIII. 

TONSBERG  was  formerly  the  residence  of  one  of  the 
little  sovereigns  of  Norway ;  and  on  an  adjacent  moun- 
tain the  vestiges  of  a  fort  remain,  which  was  battered 
down  by  the  Swedes,  the  entrance  of  the  bay  lying 
close  to  it. 

Here  I  have  frequently  strayed,  sovereign  of  the 
waste  j  I  seldom  met  any  human  creature ;  and  some- 
times, reclining  on  the  mossy  down,  under  the  shelter 
of  a  rock,  the  prattling  of  the  sea  amongst  the  pebbles 
has  lulled  me  to  sleep — no  fear  of  any  rude  satyr's 
approaching  to  interrupt  my  repose.  Balmy  were  the 
slumbers,  and  soft  the  gales,  that  refreshed  me,  when 
I  awoke  to  follow,  with  an  eye  vaguely  curious,  the 
white  sails,  as  they  turned  the  cliffs,  or  seemed  to  take 
shelter  under  the  pines  which  covered  the  little  islands 
that  so  gracefully  rose  to  render  the  terrific  ocean 
beautiful.  The  fishermen  were  calmly  casting  their 
nets,  whilst  the  sea-gulls  hovered  over  the  unruffled 
deep.  Everything  seemed  to  harmonise  into  tranquil- 
lity ;  even  the  mournful  call  of  the  bittern  was  in 
cadence  with  the  tinkling  bells  on  the  necks  of  the  cows, 
that,  pacing  slowly  one  after  the  other,  along  an  inviting 
path  in  the  vale  below,  were  repairing  to  the  cottages  to 
be  milked.  With  what  ineffable  pleasure  have  I  not 
gazed — and  gazed  again,  losing  my  breath  through  my 
eyes — my  very  soul  diffused  itself  in  the  scene  ;  and, 
seeming  to  become  all  senses,  glided  in  the  scarcely- 
agitated  waves,  melted  in  the  freshening  breeze,  or, 


7C  LETTERS   ON    SWEDEN, 

taking  its  flight  with  fairy  wing,  to  the  misty  moun- 
tains which  bounded  the  prospect,  fancy  tripped  ovor 
now  lawns,  more  beautiful  even  than  the  lovely  slopes 
on  the  winding  shore  before  me.  I  pause,  again  breath- 
less, to  trace,  with  renewed  delight,  sentiments  which 
entranced  me,  when,  turning  my  humid  eyes  from  the 
expanse  below  to  the  vault  above,  my  sight  pierced  the 
fleecy  clouds  that  softened  the  azure  brightness ;  and 
imperceptibly  recalling  the  reveries  of  childhood,  I 
•bowed  before  the  awful  throne  of  my  Creator,  whilst 
I  rested  on  its  footstool. 

You  have  sometimes  wondered,  my  dear  friend,  at 
the  extreme  affection  of  my  nature.  But  such  is  the 
temperature  of  my  soul.  It  is  not  the  vivacity  of  youth, 
the  heyday  of  existence.  For  years  have  I  endea- 
voured to  calm  an  impetuous  tide,  labouring  to  make 
my  feelings  take  an  orderly  course.  It  was  striving 
against  the  stream.  I  must  love  and  admire  with 
warmth,  or  I  sink  into  sadness.  Tokens  of  love  which 
I  have  received  have  wrapped  me  in  Elysium,  purify- 
ing the  heart  they  enchanted.  My  bosom  still  glows. 
Do  not  saucily  ask,  repeating  Sterne's  question, 
"  Maria,  is  it  still  so  warm  ? "  Sufficiently,  O  my 
God !  has  it  been  chilled  by  sorrow  and  unkiudness ; 
Btill  nature  will  prevail ;  and  if  I  blush  at  recollecting 
past  enjoyment,  it  is  the  rosy  hue  of  pleasure  height- 
ened by  modesty,  for  the  blush  of  modesty  and  shame 
are  as  distinct  as  the  emotions  by  which  they  are 
produced. 

I  need  scarcely  inform  you,  after  tolling  you  of  my 
walks,  that  my  constitution  has  been  renovated  here, 


I 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  77 

and  that  I  have  recovered  my  activity  even  whilst  at- 
taining a  little  embonpoint.  My  imprudence  last 
winter,  and  some  untoward  accidents  just  at  the  time 
I  was  weaning  my  child,  had  reduced  me  to  a  state 
of  weakness  which  I  never  before  experienced.  A  slow 
fever  preyed  on  me  every  night  during  my  residence 
in  Sweden,  and  after  I  arrived  at  Tonsberg.  By 
chance  I  found  a  fine  rivulet  filtered  through  the  rocks, 
and  confined  in  a  basin  for  the  cattle.  It  tasted  to  me 
like  a  chalybeate;  at  any  rate,  it  was  pure;  and  the 
good  effect  of  the  various  waters  which  invalids  are 
sent  to  drink  depends,  I  believe,  more  on  the  air, 
exercise,  and  change  of  scene,  than  on  their  medicinal 
qualities.  I  therefore  determined  to  turn  my  morning 
walks  towards  it,  and  seek  for  health  from  the  nymph 
of  the  fountain,  partaking  of  the  beverage  offered  to 
the  tenants  of  the  shade. 

Chance  likewise  led  me  to  discover  a  new  pleasure 
equally  beneficial  to  my  health.  I  wished  to  avail  myself 
of  my  vicinity  to  the  sea  and  bathe ;  but  it  was  not 
possible  near  the  town;  there  was  no  convenience. 
The  young  woman  whom  I  mentioned  to  you  proposed 
rowing  me  across  the  water  amongst  the  rocks ;  but  as 
she  was  pregnant,  I  insisted  on  taking  one  of  the  oars, 
and  learning  to  row.  It  was  not  difficult,  and  I  do 
not  know  a  pleasanter  exercise.  I  soon  became  expert, 
and  my  train  of  thinking  kept  time,  as  it  were, 
with  the  oars,  or  I  suffered  the  boat  to  be  carried  along 
by  the  current,  indulging  a  pleasing  forgetf ulness  or 
fallacious  hopes.  How  fallacious !  yet,  without  hope, 
what  is  to  sustain  life,  but  the  fear  of  annihilation — 


78  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

the  only  thing  of  which  I  have  ever  felt  a  dread.  I 
cannot  bear  to  think  of  being  no  more — of  losing 
myself — though  existence  is  often  but  a  painful  con- 
sciousness of  misery ;  nay,  it  appears  to  me  impossible 
that  I  should  cease  to  exist,  or  that  this  active,  restless 
spirit,  equally  alive  to  joy  and  sorrow,  should  only  be 
organised  dust — ready  to  fly  abroad  the  moment  the 
spring  snaps,  or  the  spark  goes  out  which  kept  it 
together.  Surely  something  resides  in  this  heart  that 
is  not  perishable,  and  life  is  more  than  a  dream. 

Sometimes,  to  take  up  my  oar  once  more,  when  the 
sea  was  calm,  I  was  amused  by  disturbing  the  in- 
numerable young  star  fish  which  floated  just  below  the 
surface ;  I  had  never  observed  them  before,  for  they 
have  not  a  hard  shell  like  those  which  I  have  seen  on 
the  seashore.  They  look  like  thickened  water  with  a 
white  edge,  and  four  purple  circles,  of  different  forms, 
were  in  the  middle,  over  an  incredible  number  of 
fibres  or  white  lines.  Touching  them,  the  cloudy  sub- 
stance would  turn  or  close,  first  on  one  side,  then  on 
the  other,  very  gracefully,  but  when  I  took  one  of  them 
up  in  the  ladle,  with  which  I  heaved  the  water  out  of 
the  boat,  it  appeared  only  a  colourless  jelly. 

I  did  not  see  any  of  the  seals,  numbers  of  which 
followed  our  boat  when  we  landed  in  Sweden;  but 
though  I  like  to  sport  in  the  water  I  should  have  had 
no  desire  to  join  in  their  gambols. 

Enough,  you  will  say,  of  inanimate  nature  and  of 
brutes,  to  use  the  lordly  phrase  of  man ;  let  ine  hear 
something  of  the  inhabitants. 

The  gentleman  with  whom  I  had   business  is   the 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  79 

Mayor  of  Tonsberg.  He  speaks  English  intelligibly, 
and,  having  a  sound  understanding,  I  was  sorry  that 
his  numerous  occupations  prevented  my  gaining  as 
much  information  from  him  as  I  could  have  drawn 
forth  had  we  frequently  conversed.  The  people  of  the 
town,  as  far  as  I  had  an  opportunity  of  knowing  their 
sentiments,  are  extremely  well  satisfied  with  his  manner 
of  discharging  his  office.  He  has  a  degree  of  informa- 
tion and  good  sense  which  excites  respect,  whilst  a 
cheerfulness,  almost  amounting  to  gaiety,  enables  him 
to  reconcile  differences  and  keep  his  neighbours  in 
good  humour.  "  I  lost  my  horse,"  said  a  woman  to 
me,  "  but  ever  since,  when  I  want  to  send  to  the  mill, 
or  go  out,  the  Mayor  lends  me  one.  He  scolds  if  I  do 
not  come  for  it." 

A  criminal  was  branded,  during  my  stay  here,  for 
the  third  offence ;  but  the  relief  he  received  made  him 
declare  that  the  judge  was  one  of  the  best  men  in  the 
world. 

I  sent  this  wretch  a  trifle,  at  different  times,  to  take 
with  him  into  slavery.  As  it  was  more  than  he 
expected,  he  wished  very  much  to  see  me,  and  this  wish 
brought  to  my  remembrance  an  anecdote  I  heard  when 
I  was  in  Lisbon. 

A  wretch  who  had  been  imprisoned  several  years, 
during  which  period  lamps  had  been  put  up,  was  at 
last  condemned  to  a  cruel  death,  yet,  in  his  way  to 
execution,  he  only  wished  for  one  night's  respite  to  see 
the  city  lighted. 

Having  dmed  in  company  at  the  mayor's  I  was 
invited  with  his  family  to  spend  the  day  at  one  of  the 


80  LETTERS    ON   SWEDEN, 

richest  merchant's  houses.  Though  I  could  not  speak 
Danish  I  knew  that  I  could  see  a  great  deal ;  yes,  I  am 
persuaded  that  I  have  formed  a  very  just  opinion  of 
the  character  of  the  Norwegians,  without  being  able  to 
luld  converse  with  them. 

I  had  expected  to  meet  some  company,  yet  was  a 
little  disconcerted  at  being  ushered  into  an  apartment 
full  of  well  dressed  people,  and  glancing  my  eyes 
round  they  rested  on  several  very  pretty  faces.  Rosy 
cheeks,  sparkling  eyes,  and  light  brown  or  golden 
locks ;  for  I  never  saw  so  much  hair  with  a  yellow 
cast,  and,  with  their  fine  complexions,  it  looked  very 
becoming. 

These  women  seem  a  mixture  of  indolence  and 
vivacity;  they  scarcely  ever  walk  out,  and  were 
astonished  that  I  should  for  pleasure,  yet  they  are 
immoderately  fond  of  dancing.  Unaffected  in  their 
manners,  if  they  have  no  pretensions  to  elegance, 
simplicity  often  produces  a  gracefulness  of  deportment, 
when  they  are  animated  by  a  particular  desire  to 
please,  which  was  the  case  at  present.  The  solitariness 
of  my  situation,  which  they  thought  terrible,  interested 
them  very  much  in  my  favour.  They  gathered  round 
me,  sung  to  me,  and  one  of  the  prettiest,  to  whom  I 
gave  my  hand  with  some  degree  of  cordiality,  to  meet 
the  glance  of  her  eyes,  kissed  me  very  affectionately. 

At  dinner,  which  was  conducted  with  great  hos- 
pitality, though  we  remained  at  table  too  long,  they 
sung  several  songs,  and,  amongst  the  rest,  translations 
of  some  patriotic  French  ones.  As  the  evening 
advanced  they  became  playful,  and  we  kept  up  a  sort 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  81 

of  conversation  of  gestures.  As  their  minds  were 
totally  uncultivated  I  did  not  lose  much,  perhaps 
gained,  by  not  being  able  to  understand  them ;  for  fancy 
probably  filled  up,  more  to  their  advantage,  the  void  in 
the  picture.  Be  that  as  it  may,  they  excited  my 
sympathy,  and  I  was  very  much  flattered  when  I  was 
told  the  next  day  that  they  said  it  was  a  pleasure  to 
look  at  me,  I  appeared  so  good-natured. 

The  men  were  generally  captains  of  ships.  Several 
spoke  English  very  tolerably,  but  they  were  merely 
matter-of-fact  men,  confined  to  a  very  narrow  circle 
of  observation.  I  found  it  difficult  to  obtain  from 
them  any  information  respecting  their  own  country, 
when  the  fumes  of  tobacco  did  not  keep  me  at  a  dis- 
tance. 

I  was  invited  to  partake  of  some  other  feasts,  and 
always  had  to  complain  of  the  quantity  of  provision 
and  the  length  of  time  taken  to  consume  it;  for  it 
would  not  have  been  proper  to  have  said  devour,  all 
went  on  so  fair  and  softly.  The  servants  wait  as 
slowly  as  their  mistresses  carve. 

The  young  women  here,  as  well  as  in  Sweden,  have 
commonly  bad  teeth,  which  I  attribute  to  the  same 
causes.  They  are  fond  of  finery,  but  do  not  pay  the 
necessary  attention  to  their  persons,  to  render  beauty 
less  transient  than  a  flower,  and  that  interesting  ex- 
pression which  sentiment  and  accomplishments  give 
seldom  supplies  its  place. 

The  servants  have,  likewise,  an  inferior  sort  of  food 
hero,  but  their  masters  are  not  allowed  to  strike  them 
with  impunity.  I  might  have  added  mistresses,  for 


82  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

it  was  a  complaint  of  tins  kind  brought  before  the 
mayor  which  led  me  to  a  knowledge  of  the  fact. 

The  wages  are  low,  which  is  particularly  unjust, 
because  the  price  of  clothes  is  much  higher  than  that 
of  provision.  A  young  woman,  who  is  wet  nurse  to 
the  mistress  of  the  inn  where  I  lodge,  receives  only 
twelve  dollars  a  year,  and  pays  ten  for  the  nursing  of 
her  own  child.  The  father  had  run  away  to  get  clear 
of  the  expense.  There  was  something  in  this  most 
painful  state  of  widowhood  which  excited  my  compassion 
and  led  me  to  reflections  on  the  instability  of  the  most 
flattering  plans  of  happiness,  that  were  painful  in  the 
extreme,  till  I  was  ready  to  ask  whether  this  world 
was  not  created  to  exhibit  every  possible  combination 
of  wretchedness.  I  asked  these  questions  of  a  heart 
writhing  with  anguish,  whilst  I  listened  to  a  melancholy 
ditty  sung  by  this  poor  girl.  It  was  too  early  for  thee 
to  be  abandoned,  thought  I,  and  I  hastened  out  of  the 
house  to  take  my  solitary  evening's  walk.  And  here 
I  am  again  to  talk  of  anything  but  the  pangs  arising 
from  the  discovery  of  estranged  affection  and  the  lonely 
sadness  of  a  deserted  heart. 

The  father  and  mother,  if  the  father  can  be  ascer- 
tained, are  obliged  to  maintain  an  illegitimate  child  at 
their  joint  expense ;  but,  should  the  father  disappear, 
go  up  the  country  or  to  sea,  the  mother  must  maintain 
it  herself.  However,  accidents  of  this  kind  do  not 
prevent  their  marrying,  and  then  it  is  not  unusual  to 
take  the  child  or  children  home,  and  they  are  brought 
up  very  amicably  with  the  marriage  progeny. 

I  took  some  pains  to  learn  what  books  were  written 


NORWAY,    AND    DENMARK.  83 

originally  in  their  language ;  but  for  any  certain  infor- 
mation respecting  the  state  of  Danish  literature  I  must 
wait  till  I  arrive  at  Copenhagen. 

The  sound  of  the  language  is  soft,  a  great  proportion 
of  the  words  ending  in  vowels ;  and  there  is  a  sim- 
plicity in  the  turn  of  some  of  the  phrases  which  have 
been  translated  to  me  that  pleased  and  interested  me. 
In  the  country  the  farmers  use  the  thou  and  tliee ;  and 
they  do  not  acquire  the  polite  plurals  of  the  towns  by 
meeting  at  market.  The  not  having  markets  estab- 
lished in  the  large  towns  appears  to  me  a  great  in- 
convenience. When  the  farmers  have  anything  to 
sell  they  bring  it  to  the  neighbouring  town  and  take  it 
from  house  to  house.  I  am  surprised  that  the  inhabi- 
tants do  not  feel  how  very  incommodious  this  usage  is 
to  both  parties,  and  redress  it ;  they,  indeed,  perceive 
it,  for  when  I  have  introduced  the  subject  they  acknow- 
ledged that  they  were  often  in  want  of  necessaries, 
there  being  no  butchers,  and  they  were  often  obliged  to 
buy  what  they  did  not  want ;  yet  it  was  the  custom, 
and  the  changing  of  customs  of  a  long  standing '  re- 
quires more  energy  than  they  yet  possess.  I  received 
a  similar  reply  when  I  attempted  to  persuade  the 
women  that  they  injured  their  children  by  keeping 
them  too  warm.  The  only  way  of  parrying  off  my 
reasoning  was  that  they  must  do  as  other  people  did ; 
in  short,  reason  on  any  subject  of  change,  and  they 
stop  you  by  saying  that  "  the  town  would  talk."  A 
person  of  sense,  with  a  large  fortune  to  ensure  respect, 
might  be  very  useful  here,  by  inducing  them  to  treat 
their  children  and  manage  their  sick  properly,  and  eat 


84 

food  dressed  in  a  simpler  manner — the  example,  for 
instance,  of  a  count's  lady. 

Reflecting  on  these  prejudices  made  me  revert  to  tho 
wisdom  of  those  legislators  who  established  institutions 
for  the  good  of  the  body  under  the  pretext  of  serving 
heaven  for  the  salvation  of  the  soul.  These  might 
with  strict  propriety  be  termed  pious  frauds  ;  and  I 
admire  the  Peruvian  pair  for  asserting  that  they  came 
from  the  sun,  when  their  conduct  proved  that  they 
meant  to  enlighten  a  benighted  country,  whose  obedi- 
ence, or  even  attention,  could  only  be  secured  by  awe. 

Thus  much  for  conquering  the  inertia  of  reason; 
but,  when  it  is  once  in  motion,  fables  once  held  sacred 
may  be  ridiculed ;  and  sacred  they  were  when  useful  to 
mankind.  Prometheus  alone  stole  fire  to  animate  the 
first  man ;  his  posterity  needs  not  supernatural  aid  to 
preserve  the  species,  though  love  is  generally  termed  a 
flame ;  and  it  may  not  be  necessary  much  longer  to 
suppose  men  inspired  by  heaven  to  inculcate  the  duties 
which  demand  special  grace  when  reason  convinces 
them  that  they  are  the  happiest  who  are  the  most  nobly 
employed. 

In  a  few  days  I  am  to  set  out  for  the  western  part  of 
Norway,  and  then  shall  return  by  land  to  Gothenburg. 
I  cannot  think  of  leaving  this  place  without  regret.  I 
speak  of  the  place  before  the  inhabitants,  though  there 
is  a  tenderness  in  their  artless  kindness  which  attaches 
me  to  them ;  but  it  is  an  attachment  that  inspires  a 
regret  very  different  from  that  I  felt  at  leaving  Hull  in 
my  way  to  Sweden.  The  domestic  happiness  and  good- 
humoured  gaiety  of  the  amiable  family  where  I  and 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  85 

my  Frances  were  so  hospitably  received  would  have 
been  sufficient  to  ensure  the  tenderest  remembrance, 
without  the  recollection  of  the  social  evenings  to 
stimulate  it,  when  good  breeding  gave  dignity  to 
sympathy  and  wit  zest  to  reason. 

Adieu  ! — I  am  jus!;  informed  that  my  horse  has  been 
waiting  this  quarter  of  an  hour.  I  now  venture  to  ride 
out  alone.  The  steeple  serves  as  a  landmark.  I  ouco 
or  twice  lost  my  way,  walking  alone,  without  being  able 
to  inquire  after  a  path;  I  was  therefore  obliged  to 
make  to  the  steeple,  or  windmill,  over  hedge  and  ditch. 

Yours  truly. 


LETTER   IX. 

I  HAVE  already  informed  you  that  there  are  only  two 
noblemen  who  have  estates  of  any  magnitude  in  Norwa/. 
One  of  these  has  a  house  near  Tonsberg,  at  which  ho 
has  not  resided  for  some  years,  having  been  at  court, 
or  on  embassies.  He  is  now  the  Danish  Ambassador 
in  London.  The  house  is  pleasantly  situated,  and  tho 
grounds  about  it  fine ;  but  their  neglected  appearance 
plainly  tells  that  there  is  nobody  at  home. 

A  stupid  kind  of  sadness,  to  my  eye,  always  reigns 
in  a  huge  habitation  where  only  servants  live  to  put 
cases  on  the  furniture  and  open  the  windows.  I  enter 
as  I  would  into  the  tomb  of  the  Capulets,  to  look  at  tho 
family  pictures  that  here  frown  in  armour,  or  smile  in 
ermine.  The  mildew  respects  not  the  lordly  robe,  and 
the  worm  riots  unchecked  on  the  cheek  of  beauty. 


8G  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

There  was  nothing  in  the  architecture  of  the  building, 
or  the  form  of  the  furniture,  to  detain  me  from  the 
avenue  where  the  aged  pines  stretched  along  majesti- 
cally. Time  had  given  a  greyish  cast  to  their  ever-green 
foliage ;  and  they  stood,  like  sires  of  the  forest,  shel- 
tered on  all  sides  by  a  rising  progeny.  I  had  not  ever 
seen  so  many  oaks  together  in  Norway  as  in  these 
woods,  nor  such  large  aspens  as  here  were  agitated  by 
the  breeze,  rendering  the  wind  audible — nay  musical ; 
for  melody  seemed  on  the  wing  around  me.  How 
different  was  the  fresh  odour  that  reanimated  me  in 
the  avenue,  from  the  damp  dullness  of  the  apartments ; 
and  as  little  did  the  gloomy  thoughtfulness  excited  by 
the  dusty  hangings,  and  worm-eaten  pictures,  resemble 
the  reveries  inspired  by  the  soothing  melancholy  of 
their  shade.  In  the  winter,  these  august  pines,  tower- 
ing above  the  snow,  must  relieve  the  eye  beyond  measure 
and  give  life  to  the  white  waste. 

The  continual  recurrence  of  pine  and  fir  groves  in 
the  day  sometimes  wearies  the  sight,  but  in  the  evening, 
nothing  can  be  more  picturesque :  or,  more  properly 
speaking,  better  calculated  to  produce  poetical  images. 
Passing  through  them,  I  have  been  struck  with  a  mystic 
kind  of  reverence,  and  I  did,  as  it  were,  homage  to  their 
venerable  shadows.  Not  nymphs,  but  philosophers, 
seemed  to  inhabit  them — ever  musing;  I  could  scarcely 
conceive  that  they  wore  without  some  consciousness  of 
existence — without  a  calm  enjoyment  of  the  pleasure 
they  diffused. 

How  often  do  my  feelings  produce  ideas  tlmt  remind 
mo  of  the  origin  of  many  poetical  fictions.  In  solitude, 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK:.  87 

the  imagination  bodies  forth  its  conceptions  unre- 
strained, and  stops  enraptured  to  adore  the  beings  of 
its  own  creation.  These  are  moments  of  bliss ;  and 
the  memory  recalls  them  with  delight. 

But  I  have  almost  forgotten  the  matters  of  fact  I 
meant  to  relate,  respecting  the  counts.  They  have  the 
presentation  of  the  livings  on  their  estates,  appoint  the 
judges,  and  different  civil  officers,  the  Crown  reserving 
to  itself  the  privilege  of  sanctioning  them.  But  though 
they  appoint,  they  cannot  dismiss.  Their  tenants  also 
occupy  their  farms  for  life,  and  are  obliged  to  obey  any 
summons  to  work  on  the  part  he  reserves  for  himself ; 
but  they  are  paid  for  their  labour.  In  short,  .1  have 
seldom  heard  of  any  noblemen  so  innoxious. 

Observing  that  the  gardens  round  the  count's  estate 
were  better  cultivated  than  any  I  had  before  seen,  I 
was  led  to  reflect  on  the  advantages  which  naturally 
accrue  from  the  feudal  tenures.  The  tenants  of  the 
count  are  obliged  to  work  at  a  stated  price,  in  his 
grounds  and  garden;  and  the  instruction  which  they 
imperceptibly  receive  from  the  head  gardener  tends  to 
render  them  useful,  and  makes  them,  in  the  common 
course  of  things,  better  husbandmen  and  gardeners  on 
their  own  little  farms.  Thus  the  great,  who  alone 
travel  in  this  period  of  society,  for  the  observation  of 
manners  and  customs  made  by  sailors  is  very  confined, 
bring  home  improvement  to  promote  their  own  comfort, 
which  is  gradually  spread  abroad  amongst  the  people, 
till  they  are  stimulated  to  think  for  themselves. 

The  bishops  have  not  large  revenues,  and  the  priests 
are  appointed  by  the  king  before  they  come  to  them  to 


83  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

bo  ordained.  There  is  commonly  some  little  farm 
annexed  to  the  parsonage,  and  the  inhabitants  subscribe 
voluntarily,  three  times  a  year,  in  addition  to  the 
church  fees,  for  the  support  of  the  clergyman.  The 
church  lands  were  seized  when  Lutheranism  was  in- 
troduced, the  desire  of  obtaining  them  being  probably 
the  real  stimulus  of  reformation.  The  tithes,  which 
are  never  required  in  kind,  are  divided  into  three 
parts — one  to  the  king,  another  to  the  incumbent,  and 
the  third  to  repair  the  dilapidations  of  the  parsonage. 
They  do  not  amount  to  much.  And  the  stipend  al- 
lowed to  the  different  civil  officers  is  also  too  small, 
scarcely  deserving  to  be  termed  an  independence ;  that 
of  the  custom-house  officers  is  not  sufficient  to  procure 
the  necessaries  of  life — no  wonder,  then,  if  necessity 
leads  them  to  knavery.  Much  public  virtue  cannot 
be  expected  till  every  employment,  putting  perquisites 
out  of  the  question,  has  a  salary  sufficient  to  reward 
industry;  whilst  none  are  so  great  as  to  permit  the 
possessor  to  remain  idle.  It  is  this  want  of  proportion 
between  profit  and  labour  which  debases  men,  pro- 
ducing the  sycophantic  appellations  of  patron  and 
client,  and  that  pernicious  esprit  du  corps,  proverbially 
vicious. 

The  farmers  are  hospitable  as  well  as  independent. 
Offering  once  to  pay  for  some  coffee  I  drank  when 
taking  shelter  from  the  rain,  I  was  asked,  rather 
angrily,  if  a  little  coffee  was  worth  paying  for.  They 
sm dke,  and  drink  drams,  but  not  so  much  as  formerly. 
Drunkenness,  often  the  attendant  disgrace  of  hos- 
pitality, will  here,  as  well  as  everywhere  else,  give 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  80 

place  to  gallantry  and  refinement  of  manners  ;  but  tlio 
change  will  not  be  suddenly  produced. 

The  people  of  every  class  are  constant  in  their  at- 
tendance at  church;  they  are  very  fond  of  dancing, 
and  the  Sunday  evenings  in  Norway,  as  in  Catholic 
countries,  are  spent  in  exercises  which  exhilarate  the 
spirits  without  vitiating  the  heart.  The  rest  of  labour 
ought  to  be  gay;  and  the  gladness  I  have  felt  in 
France  on  a  Sunday,  or  Decadi,  which  I  caught  from 
the  faces  around  me,  was  a  sentiment  more  truly 
religious  than  all  the  stupid  stillness  which  the  streets 
of  London  ever  inspired  where  the  Sabbath  is  so  de- 
corously observed.  I  recollect,  in  the  country  parts  of 
England,  the  churchwardens  used  to  go  out  during  the 
service  to  see  if  they  could  catch  any  luckless  wight 
playing  at  bowls  or  skittles ;  yet  what  could  be  more 
harmless  ?  It  would  even,  I  think,  be  a  great  ad- 
vantage  to  the  English,  if  feats  of  activity  (I  do  not 
include  boxing  matches)  were  encouraged  on  a  Sunday, 
as  it  might  stop  the  progress  of  Methodism,  and  of 
that  fanatical  spirit  which  appears  to  be  gaining 
ground.  I  was  surprised  when  I  visited  Yorkshire, 
on  my  way  to  Sweden,  to  find  that  sullen  narrowness 
of  thinking  had  made  such  a  progress  since  I  was  au 
inhabitant  of  the  country.  I  could  hardly  have  sup- 
posed that  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  could  have  pro- 
duced such  an  alteration  for  the  worse  in  the  morals  of 
a  place — yes,  I  say  morals ;  for  observance  of  forms, 
and  avoiding  of  practices,  indifferent  in  themselves, 
often  supply  the  place  of  that  regular  attention  to 
duties  which  are  so  natural,  that  they  seldom  are 


90  LETTERS   ON    SWEDEN, 

vauntiiigly  exercised,  though  they  are  worth  all  the 
precepts  of  the  law  and  the  prophets.  Besides,  many 
of  these  deluded  people,  with  the  best  meaning,  actually 
lose  their  reason,  and  become  miserable,  the  dread  of 
damnation  throwing  them  into  a  state  which  merits 
the  term;  and  still  more,  in  running  after  their 
preachers,  expecting  to  promote  their  salvation,  they 
disregard  their  welfare  in  this  world,  and  neglect 
the  interest  and  comfort  of  their  families ;  so  that,  in 
proportion  as  they  attain  a  reputation  for  piety,  they 
become  idle. 

Aristocracy  and  fanaticism  seem  equally  to  be 
gaining  ground  in  England,  particularly  in  the  place 
I  have  mentioned;  I  saw  very  little  of  either  in 
Norway.  The  people  are  regular  in  their  attendance 
on  public  worship,  but  religion  does  not  interfere  with 
their  employments. 

As  the  farmers  cut  away  the  wood  they  clear  the 
ground.  Every  year,  therefore,  the  country  is  becom- 
ing fitter  to  support  the  inhabitants.  Half  a  century 
ago  the  Dutch,  I  am  told,  only  paid  for  the  cutting 
down  of  the  wood,  and  the  farmers  were  glad  to  get  rid 
of  it  without  giving  themselves  any  trouble.  At  pre- 
sent they  form  a  just  estimate  of  its  value  ;  nay,  I  was 
surprised  to  find  even  firewood  so  dear  when  it  appears 
to  be  in  such  plenty.  The  destruction,  or  gradual  re- 
duction,  of  their  forests  will  probably  ameliorate  the 
climate,  and  their  manners  will  naturally  improve  in 
the  same  ratio  as  industry  requires  ingenuity.  It  is 
very  fortunate  that  men  are  a  long  time  but  just  above 
the  brute  creation,  or  the  greater  part  of  the  earth 


would  nc 


NORWAY,   AND    DENMARK.  91 


would  never  have  been  rendered  habitable,  because  it 
is  the  patient  labour  of  men,  who  are  only  seeking  for 
a  subsistence,  which  produces  whatever  embellishes 
existence,  affording  leisure  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
arts  and  sciences  that  lift  man  so  far  above  his  first 
state.  I  never,  my  friend,  thought  so  deeply  of  the 
advantages  obtained  by  human  industry  as  since  I  have 
been  in  Norway.  The  world  requires,  I  see,  the  hand 
of  man  to  perfect  it,  and  as  this  task  naturally  unfolds 
the  faculties  he  exercises,  it  is  physically  impossible 
that  he  should  have  remained  in  Rousseau's  golden  age 
of  stupidity.  And,  considering  the  question  of  human 
happiness,  where,  oh !  where  does  it  reside  ?  Has  it 
taken  up  its  abode  with  unconscious  ignorance  or  with 
the  high- wrought  mind  ?  Is  it  the  offspring  of  thought- 
less animal  spirits  or  the  elve  of  fancy  continually  flit- 
ting round  the  expected  pleasure  ? 

The  increasing  population  of  the  earth  must  neces- 
sarily tend  to  its  improvement,  as  the  means  of  exist- 
ence are  multiplied  by  invention. 

You  have  probably  made  similar  reflections  in 
America,  where  the  face  of  the  country,  I  suppose,  re- 
sembles the  wilds  of  Norway. '  I  am  delighted  with 
the  romantic  views  I  daily  contemplate,  animated  by 
the  purest  air ;  and  I  am  interested  by  the  simplicity 
of  manners  which  reigns  around  me.  Still  nothing  so 
soon  wearies  out  the  feelings  as  unmarked  simplicity. 
I  am  therefore  half  convinced  that  I  could  not  live 
very  comfortably  exiled  from  the  countries  where  man- 
kind are  so  much  further  advanced  in  knowledge,  im- 
perfect as  it  is,  and  unsatisfactory  to  the  thinking 


92  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

mind.  Even  now  I  begin  to  long  to  hear  what  you  are 
doing  in  England  and  France.  My  thoughts  fly  from 
this  wilderness  to  the  polished  circles  of  the  world,  till 
recollecting  its  vices  and  follies,  I  bury  myself  in  the 
woods,  but  find  it  necessary  to  emerge  again,  that  I 
may  not  lose  sight  of  the  wisdom  and  virtue  which 
exalts  my  nature. 

What  a  long  time  it  requires  to  know  ourselves ;  and 
yet  almost  every  one  has  more  of  this  knowledge  than 
he  is  willing  to  own,  even  to  himself.  I  cannot  im- 
mediately determine  whether  I  ought  to  rejoice  at 
having  turned  over  in  this  solitude  a  new  page  in  the 
history  of  ray  own  heart,  though  I  may  venture  to 
assure  you  that  a  further  acquaintance  with  mankind 
only  tends  to  increase  my  respect  for  your  judgment 
and  esteem  for  your  character.  Farewell ! 


LETTER  X. 

I  HAVE  once  more,  my  friend,  taken  flight,  for  I  left 
Tonsberg  yesterday,  but  with  an  intention  of  returning 
in  my  way  back  to  Sweden. 

The  road  to  Laurvig  is  very  fine,  and  the  country 
the  best  cultivated  in  Norway.  I  never  before  admired 
the  beech  tree,  and  when  I  met  stragglers  here  they 
pleased  me  still  less.  Long  and  lank,  they  would  have 
forced  me  to  allow  that  the  line  of  beauty  requires  some 
curves,  if  the  stately  pine,  standing  near,  erect,  throw- 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  93 

ing  her  vast  .arms  around,  had  not  looked  beautiful  in 
opposition  to  such  narrow  rules. 

In  these  respects  my  very  reason  obliges  me  to  per- 
mit my  feelings  to  be  my  criterion.  Whatever  excites 
emotion  has  charms  for  me,  though  I  insist  that  the 
cultivation  of  the  mind  by  warming,  nay,  almost  creat- 
ing the  imagination,  produces  taste  and  an  immense 
variety  of  sensations  and  emotions,  partaking  of  the 
exquisite  pleasure  inspired  by  beauty  and  sublimity. 
As  I  know  of  no  end  to  them,  the  word  infinite,  so 
often  misapplied,  might  on  this  occasion  be  introduced 
with  something  like  propriety. 

But  I  have  rambled  away  again.  I  intended  to  have 
remarked  to  you  the  effect  produced  by  a  grove  of 
towering  beech,  the  airy  lightness  of  their  foliage  ad- 
mitting  a  degree  of  sunshine,  which,  giving  a  trans- 
parency to  the  leaves,  exhibited  an  appearance  of 
freshness  and  elegance  that  I  had  never  before  re- 
marked. I  thought  of  descriptions  of  Italian  scenery. 
But  these  evanescent  graces  seemed  the  effect  of  en- 
chantment ;  and  I  imperceptibly  breathed  softly,  lest  I 
should  destroy  what  was  real,  yet  looked  so  like  the 
creation  of  fancy.  Dryden's  fable  of  the  flower  and 
the  leaf  was  not  a  more  poetical  reverie. 

Adieu,  however,  to  fancy,  and  to  all  the  sentiments 
which  ennoble  our  nature.  I  arrived  at  Laurvig,  and 
found  myself  in  the  midst  of  a  group  of  lawyers  of 
different  descriptions.  My  head  turned  round,  my 
heart  grew  sick,  as  I  regarded  visages  deformed  by 
vice,  and  listened  to  accounts  of  chicanery  that  was 
continually  embroiling  the  ignorant.  These  locusts 


94  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

will  probably  diminish  as  the  people  become  more  eri- 
lighteiied.  In  this  period  of  social  life  the  commonalty 
are  always  cunningly  attentive  to  their  own  interest ; 
but  their  faculties,  confined  to  a  few  objects,  are  so 
narrowed,  that  they  cannot  discover  it  in  the  general 
good.  The  profession  of  the  law  renders  a  set  of  men 
still  shrewder  and  more  selfish  than  the  rest ;  and  it  is 
these  men,  whose  wits  have  been  sharpened  by  knavery, 
who  here  undermine  morality,  confounding  right  and 
wrong. 

The  Count  of  Bernstorff,  who  really  appears  to  me, 
from  all  I  can  gather,  to  have  the  good  of  the  people 
at  heart,  aware  of  this,  has  lately  sent  to  the  mayor  of- 
each  district  to  name,  according  to  the  size  of  the 
place,  four  or  six  of  the  best-informed  inhabitants,  not 
men  of  the  law,  out  of  which  the  citizens  were  to  elect 
two,  who  are  to  be  termed  mediators.  Their  office  is 
to  endeavour  to  prevent  litigious  suits,  and  conciliate 
differences.  And  no  suit  is  to  be  commenced  before 
the  parties  have  discussed  the  dispute  at  their  weekly 
meeting.  If  a  reconciliation  should,  in  consequence, 
take  place,  it  is  to  be  registered,  and  the  parties  are  not 
allowed  to  retract. 

By  these  means  ignorant  people  will  be  prevented 
from  applying  for  advice  to  men  who  may  justly  be 
termed  stirrers-up  of  strife.  They  have  for  a  long 
time,  to  use  a  significant  vulgarism,  set  the  people  by 
the  ears,  and  live  by  the  spoil  they  caught  up  in  the 
scramble.  There  is  some  reason  to  hope  that  this 
regulation  will  diminish  their  number,  and  restrain 
their  mischievous  activity.  But  till  trials  by  jury  are 


NORWAY,   AND    DENMARK. 


95 


established,  little  justice  can  be  expected  iu  Norway. 
Judges  who  cannot  be  bribed  are  often  timid,  and 
afraid  of  offending  bold  knaves,  lest  they  should  raise 
a  set  of  hornets  about  themselves.  The  fear  of  censure 
undermines  all  energy  of  character ;  and,  labouring  tc 
be  prudent,  they  lose  sight  of  rectitude.  Besides, 
nothing  is  left  to  their  conscience,  or  sagacity ;  they 
must  be  governed  by  evidence,  though  internally  con- 
vinced that  it  is  false. 

There  is  a  considerable  iron  manufactory  at  Laurvig 
for  coarse  work,  and  a  lake  near  the  town  supplies  the 
water  necessary  for  working  several  mills  belonging 
to  it. 

This  establishment  belongs  to  the  Count  of  Laurvig. 
Without  a  fortune  and  influence  eqnal  to  his,  such  a 
work  could  not  have  been  set  afloat ;  personal  fortunes 
are  not  yet  sufficient  to  support  such  undertakings. 
Nevertheless  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  speak  of  the 
size  of  his  estate  as  an  evil,  because  it  obstructs  com- 
merce. The  occupiers  of  small  farms  are  obliged  to 
bring  their  wood  to  the  neighbouring  seaports  to  be 
shipped ;  but  he,  wishing  to  increase  the  value  of  his, 
will  not  allow  it  to  be  thus  gradually  cut  down,  which 
turns  the  trade  into  another  channel.  Added  to  this, 
nature  is  against  them,  the  bay  being  open  and  inse- 
cure. I  could  not  help  smiling  when  I  was  informed 
that  in  a  hard  gale  a  vessel  had  been  wrecked  in  tlio 
main  street.  When  there  are  such  a  number  of  ex- 
cellent harbours  on  the  coast,  it  is  a  pity  that  accident 
has  made  one  of  the  largest  towns  grow  up  on  a 
bad  one. 


96  LETTERS    ON   SWEDEN, 

Tlie  father  of  the  present  count  was  a  distant  re- 
lation of  the  family  ;  he  resided  constantly  in  Denmark, 
and  his  son  follows  his  example.  They  have  not  been 
in  possession  of  the  estate  many  years ;  and  their  pre- 
decessor lived  near  the  town,  introducing  a  degree  of 
profligacy  of  manners  which  has  been  ruinous  to  the 
inhabitants  in  every  respect,  their  fortunes  not  being 
equal  to  the  prevailing  extravagance. 

What  little  I  have  seen  of  the  manners  of  the  peop'e 
does  not  please  me  so  well  as  those  of  Tonsberg.  I  am 
forewarned  that  I  shall  find  them  still  more  cunning 
and  fraudulent  as  I  advance  towards  the  westward,  in 
proportion  as  traffic  takes  place  of  agriculture,  for  their 
towns  are  built  on  naked  rocks,  the  streets  are  narrow 
bridges,  and  the  inhabitants  are  all  seafaring  men,  or 
owners  of  ships,  who  keep  shops. 

The  inn  I  was  at  in  Laurvig  this  journey  was  not 
the  same  that  I  was  at  before.  It  is  a  good  one— the 
people  civil,  and  the  accommodations  decent.  They 
seem  to  be  better  provided  in  Sweden  ;  but  in  justice 
I  ought  to  add  that  they  charge  more  extravagantly. 
My  bill  at  Tonsberg  was  also  much  higher  than  I  had 
paid  in  Sweden,  and  much  higher  than  it  ought  to  have 
been  where  provision  is  so  cheap.  Indeed,  they  seem 
to  consider  foreigners  as  strangers  whom  they  shall 
never  see  again,  and  may  fairly  pluck.  And  the  in- 
habitants of  the  western  coast,  isolated,  as  it  weiv>, 
regard  those  of  the  east  almost  as  strangers.  Each 
town  in  that  quarter  seems  to  be  a  great  family,  sus- 
picious of  every  other,  allowing  none  to  cheat  them 


:  NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  97 

but  themselves ;  and,  right  or  wrong,  they  support  one 
another  in  the  face  of  justice. 

On  this  journey  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  have  one 
companion  with  more  enlarged  views  than  the  gene- 
rality of  his  countrymen,  who  spoke  English  tolerably. 

I  was  informed  that  we  might  still  advance  a  mile 
and  a  quarter  in  our  cabrioles ;  afterwards  there  was 
no  choice,  but  of  a  single  horse  and  wretched  path,  or 
a  boat,  the  usual  mode  of  travelling. 

We  therefore  sent  our  baggage  forward  in  the  boat, 
and  followed  rather  slowly,  for  the  road  was  rocky  and 
sandy.  We  passed,  however,  through  several  beech 
groves,  which  still  delighted  me  by  the  freshness  of 
their  light  green  foliage,  and  the  elegance  of  their 
assemblage,  forming  retreats  to  veil  without  obscuring 
the  sun. 

I  was  surprised,  at  approaching  the  water,  to  find 
a  little  cluster  of  houses  pleasantly  situated,  and  an 
excellent  inn.  I  could  have  wished  to  have  remained 
there  all  night;  but  as  the  wind  was  fair,  and  the 
evening  fine,  I  was  afraid  to  trust  to  the  wind — the 
uncertain  wind  of  to-morrow.  We  therefore  left 
Helgeraac  immediately  with  the  declining  sun. 

Though  we  were  in  the  open  sea,  we  sailed  more 
amongst  the  rocks  and  islands  than  in  my  passage 
from  Stromstad;  and  they  often  formed  very  pictu- 
resque combinations.  Few  of  the  high  ridges  were 
entirely  bare ;  the  seeds  of  some  pines  or  firs  had  been 
wafted  by  the  winds  or  waves,  and  they  stood  to  brave 
the  elements. 

Sitting,  then,  in  a  little  boat  on  the  oeean;  amidst 
D— 188 


98  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

strangers,  with  sorrow  and  care  pressing  hard  on  me — 
buffeting  nie  .about  from  clime  to  clime — I  felt 

"  Like  the  lone  shrub  at  random  cast, 
That  sighs  and  trembles  at  each  blast !  " 

On  some  of  the  largest  rocks  there  were  actually 
groves,  the  retreat  of  foxes  and  hares,  which,  I  sup- 
pose, had  tripped  over  the  ice  during  the  winter, 
without  thinking  to  regain  the  main  land  before  the 
thaw. 

Several  of  the  islands  were  inhabited  by  pilots ;  and 
the  Norwegian  pilots  are  allowed  to  be  the  best  in  the 
world — perfectly  acquainted  with  their  coast,  and  ever 
at  hand  to  observe  the  first  signal  or  sail.  They  pay 
a  small  tax  to  the  king  and  to  the  regulating  officer, 
and  enjoy  the  fruit  of  their  indefatigable  industry. 

One  of  the  islands,  called  Virgin  Land,  is  a  flat, 
with  some  depth  of  earth,  extending  for  half  a  Nor- 
wegian mile,  with  three  farms  on  it,  tolerably  well 
cultivated. 

On  some  of  the  bare  rocks  I  saw  straggling  houses ; 
they  rose  above  the  denomination  of  huts  inhabited  by 
fishermen.  My  companions  assured  me  that  they  were 
very  comfortable  dwellings,  and  that  they  have  not 
only  the  necessaries,  but  even  what  might  be  reckoned 
the  superfluities  of  life.  It  was  too  late  for  me  to  go 
on  shore,  if  you  will  allow  me  to  give  that  name  to 
shivering  rocks,  to  ascertain  the  fact. 

But  rain  coming  on,  and  the  night  growing  dark, 
the  pilot  declared  that  it  would  be  dangerous  for  us  to 
attempt  to  go  to  the  place  of  our  destination — East 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  99 

Rusoer — a  Norwegian  mile  and  a  half  further;  and 
we  determined  to  stop  for  the  night  at  a  little  haven, 
some  half  dozen  houses  scattered  under  the  curve  of 
a  rock.  Though  it  became  darker  and  darker,  our 
pilot  avoided  the  blind  rocks  with  great  dexterity. 

It  was  about  ten  o'clock  when  we  arrived,  and  the 
old  hostess  quickly  prepared  me  a  comfortable  bed— a 
little  too  soft  or  so,  but  I  was  weary ;  and  opening  the 
window  to  admit  the  sweetest  of  breezes  to  fan  me  to 
sleep,  I  sunk  into  the  most  luxurious  rest :  it  was  more 
than  refreshing.  The  hospitable  sprites  of  the  grots 
surely  hovered  round  my  pillow  ;  and,  if  I  awoke,  it 
was  to  listen  to  the  melodious  whispering  of  the  wind 
amongst  them,  or  to  feel  the  mild  breath  of  morn. 
Light  slumbers  produced  dreams,  where  Paradise  was 
before  me.  My  little  cherub  was  again  hiding  her 
face  in  my  bosom.  I  heard  her  sweet  cooing  beat  on 
my  heart  from  the  cliffs,  and  saw  her  tiny  footsteps  on 
the  sands.  New-born  hopes  seemed,  like  the  rainbow, 
to  appear  in  the  clouds  of  sorrow,  faint,  yet  sufficient 
to  amuse  away  despair. 

Some  refreshing  but  heavy  showers  have  detained 
us;  and  here  I  am  writing  quite  alone — something 
more  than  gay,  for  which  I  want  a  name. 

I  could  almost  fancy  myself  in  Nootka  Sound,  or  on 
some  of  the  islands  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America. 
We  entered  by  a  narrow  pass  through  the  rocks,  which 
from  this  abode  appear  more  romantic  than  you  can 
well  imagine ;  and  seal-skins  hanging  at  the  door  to 
dry  add  to  the  illusion. 

It  is  indeed  a  corner  of  the  world,  but  you  would 


100  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

be  surprised  to  see  the  cleanliness  and  comfort  of  tlio 
dwelling.  The  shelves  are  not  only  shining  with 
pewter  and  queen's  ware,  but  some  articles  in  silver, 
more  ponderous,  it  is  true,  than  elegant.  The  linen  is 
good,  as  well  as  white.  All  the  females  spin,  and  there 
is  a  loom  in  the  kitchen.  A  sort  of  individual  taste 
appeared  in  the  arrangement  of  the  furniture  (this  is 
not  the  place  for  imitation)  and  a  kindness  in  their 
desire  to  oblige.  How  superior  to  the  apish  politeness 
of  the  towns  !  where  the  people,  affecting  to  be  well 
bred,  fatigue  with  their  endless  ceremony. 

The  mistress  is  a  widow,  her  daughter  is  married  to 
a  pilot,  and  has  three  cows.  They  have  a  little  patch 
of  land  at  about  the  distance  of  two  English  miles, 
where  they  make  hay  for  the  winter,  which  they  bring 
home  in  a  boat.  They  live  here  very  cheap,  getting 
money  from  the  vessels  which  stress  of  weather,  or 
other  causes,  bring  into  their  harbour.  I  suspect,  by 
their  furniture,  that  they  smuggle  a  little.  I  can  now 
credit  the  account  of  the  other  houses,  which  I  last 
night  thought  exaggerated. 

I  have  been  conversing  with  one  of  my  companions 
respecting  the  laws  and  regulations  of  Norway.  He 
is  a  man  with  great  portion  of  common  sense  and 
heart — yes,  a  warm  heart.  This  is  not  the  first  time 
I  have  remarked  heart  without  sentiment ;  they  are 
distinct.  The  former  depends  on  the  rectitude  of  the 
feelings,  on  truth  of  sympathy;  these  characters  have 
more  tenderness  than  passion ;  the  latter  has  a  higher 
source — call  it  imagination,  genius,  or  what  you  will, 
it  is  something  very  different.  I  have  been  laughing 


NORWAY,  AND  DENMARK.          101 

with  these  simple  worthy  folk — to  give  you  one  of  my 
half-score  Danish  words — and  letting  as  much  of  my 
heart  flow  out  in  sympathy  as  they  can  take.  Adieu  ! 
I  must  trip  up  the  rocks.  The  rain  is  over.  Let  me 
catch  pleasure  on  the  wing — I  may  be  melancholy  to- 
morrow. Now  all  my  nerves  keep  time  with  the 
melody  of  nature.  Ah  !  let  me  be  happy  whilst  I  can. 
The  tear  starts  as  I  think  of  it.  I  must  flee  from 
thought,  and  find  refuge  from  sorrow  in  a  strong 
imagination — the  only  solace  for  a  feeling  heart. 
Phantoms  of  bliss  !  ideal  forms  of  excellence !  again 
enclose  me  in  your  magic  circle,  and  wipe  clear  from 
my  remembrance  the  disappointments  that  render  the 
sympathy  painful,  which  experience  rather  increases 
than  damps,  by  giving  the  indulgence  of  feeling  the 
sanction  of  reason. 
Once  more  farewell ! 

LETTER  XL 

I  LEFT  Portoer,  the  little  haven  I  mentioned,  soon 
after  I  finished  my  last  letter.  The  sea  was  rough, 
and  I  perceived  that  our  pilot  was  right  not  to  venture 
farther  during  a  hazy  night.  We  had  agreed  to  pay 
four  dollars  for  a  boat  from  Helgeraac.  I  mention 
the  sum,  because  they  would  demand  twice  as  much 
from  a  stranger.  I  was  obliged  to  pay  fifteen  for  the 
one  I  hired  at  Stromstad.  When  we  were  ready  to 
set  out,  our  boatman  offered  to  return  a  dollar  and  let 


102  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

us  go  in  one  of  the  boats  of  the  place,  the  pilot  who 
lived  there  being  better  acquainted  with  the  coast. 
He  only  demanded  a  dollar  and  a  half,  which  was 
reasonable.  I  found  him  a  civil  and  rather  intelligent 
man ;  he  was  in  the  American  service  several  years, 
during  the  Revolution. 

I  soon  perceived  that  an  experienced  mariner  was 
necessary  to  guide  us,  for  we  were  continually  obliged 
to  tack  about,  to  avoid  the  rocks,  which,  scarcely 
reaching  to  the  surface  of  the  water,  could  only  be 
discovered  by  the  breaking  of  the  waves  over  them. 

The  view  of  this  wild  coast,  as  we  sailed  along  it, 
afforded  me  a  continual  subject  for  meditation.  I  an- 
ticipated the  future  improvement  of  the  world,  and 
observed  how  much  man  has  still  to  do  to  obtain  of 
the  earth  all  it  could  yield.  I  even  carried  my  specula- 
tions so  far  as  to  advance  a  million  or  two  of  years  to 
the  moment  when  the  earth  would  perhaps  be  so  per- 
fectly cultivated,  and  so  completely  peopled,  as  to 
render  it  necessary  to  inhabit  every  spot — yes.  these 
bleak  shores.  Imagination  went  still  farther,  and 
pictured  the  state  of  man  when  the  earth  could  no 
longer  support  him.  Whither  was  he  to  flee  from 
universal  famine  ?  Do  not  smile ;  I  really  became 
distressed  for  these  fellow  creatures  yet  unborn.  The 
images  fastened  on  me,  and  the  world  appeared  a  vast 
prison.  I  was  soon  to  be  in  a  smaller  one — for  no 
other  name  can  I  give  to  Rusoer.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  form  an  idea  of  the  place,  if  you  have  never  seen 
one  of  these  rocky  coasts. 

We  were  a  considerable  time  entering  amongst  tlio 


NORWAY,  AND  PENMARK.          103 

ids,  before  we  saw  about  two  hundred  houses 
crowded  together  under  a  very  high  rock — still  higher 
appearing  above.  Talk  not  of  Bastilles  !  To  be  born 
here  was  to  be  bastilled  by  nature — shut  out  from  all 
that  opens  the  understanding,  or  enlarges  the  heart. 
Huddled  one  behind  another,  not  more  than  a  quarter 
of  the  dwellings  even  had  a  prospect  of  the  sea.  A 
few  planks  formed  passages  from  house  to  house,  which 
you  must  often  scale,  mounting  steps  like  a  ladder  to 
enter. 

The  only  road  across  the  rocks  leads  to  a  habitation 
sterile  enough,  you  may  suppose,  when  I  tell  you  that 
the  little  earth  on  the  adjacent  ones  was  carried  there 
by  the  late  inhabitant.  A  path,  almost  impracticable 
for  a  horse,  goes  on  to  Arendall,  still  further  to  the 
westward. 

I  inquired  for  a  walk,  and,  mounting  near  two 
hundred  steps  made  round  a  rock,  walked  up  and  down 
for  about  a  hundred  yards  viewing  the  sea,  to  which  I 
quickly  descended  by  steps  that  cheated  the  declivity. 
The  ocean  and  these  tremendous  bulwarks  enclosed  me 
on  every  side.  I  felt  the  confinement,  and  wished  for 
wings  to  reach  still  loftier  cliffs,  whose  slippery  sides 
no  foot  was  so  hardy  as  to  tread.  Yet  what  was  it  to 
see  ? — only  a  boundless  waste  of  water— not  a  glimpse 
of  smiling  nature — not  a  patch  of  lively  green  to  relieve 
the  aching  sight,  or  vary  the  objects  of  meditation. 

I  felt  my  breath  oppressed,  though  nothing  could  be 
clearer  than  the  atmosphere.  Wandering  there  alone, 
I  found  the  solitude  desirable ;  my  mind  was  stored 
with  ideas,  which  this  new  scene  associated  with 


104  LETTERS   ON    SWEDEN, 

astonishing  rapidity.  But  I  shuddered  at  the  thought 
of  receiving  existence,  and  remaining  here,  in  the 
solitude  of  ignorance,  till  forced  to  leave  a  world  of 
which  I  had  seen  so  little,  for  the  character  of  the  in- 
habitants is  as  uncultivated,  if  not  as  picturesquely 
wild,  as  their  abode. 

Having  no  employment  but  traffic,  of  which  a  contra- 
band trade  makes  the  basis  of  their  profit,  the  coarsest 
feelings  of  honesty  are  quickly  blunted.  You  may  sup- 
pose that  I  speak  in  general  terms ;  and  that,  with  all 
the  disadvantages  of  nature  and  circumstances,  there 
are  still  some  respectable  exceptions,  the  more  praise- 
worthy, as  tricking  is  a  very  contagious  mental  disease, 
that  dries  up  all  the  generous  juices  of  the  heart. 
Nothing  genial,  in  fact,  appears  around  this  place,  or 
within  the  circle  of  its  rocks.  And,  now  I  recollect, 
it  seems  to  me  that  the  most  genial  and  humane  cha- 
racters I  have  met  with  in  life  were  most  alive  to  the 
sentiments  inspired  by  tranquil  country  scenes.  What, 
indeed,  is  to  humanise  these  beings,  who  rest  shut  up 
(for  they  seldom  even  open  their  windows),  smoking, 
drinking  brandy,  and  driving  bargains  ?  I  have  been 
almost  stifled  by  these  smokers.  They  begin  in  the 
morning,  and  are  rarely  without  their  pipe  till  they  go 
to  bed.  Nothing  can  be  more  disgusting  than  the 
rooms  and  men  towards  the  evening — breath,  teeth, 
clothes,  and  furniture,  all  are  spoilt.  It  is  well  that 
the  women  are  not  very  delicate,  or  they  would  only 
love  their  husbands  because  they  were  their  husbands. 
Perhaps,  you  may  add,  that  the  remark  need  not  be 
confined  to  so  small  a  part  of  the  world;  and,  entre 


nous 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  105 


,  I  ain  of  the  same  opinion.  You  must  uot  term 
this  innuendo  saucy,  for  it  does  not  come  home. 

If  I  had  not  determined  to  write  I  should  have  found 
my  confinement  here,  even  for  three  or  four  days, 
tedious.  I  have  no  books ;  and  to  pace  up  and  down 
a  small  room,  looking  at  tiles  overhung  by  rocks,  soon 
becomes  wearisome.  I  cannot  mount  two  hundred  steps 
to  walk  a  hundred  yards  many  times  in  the  day.  Be- 
sides, the  rocks,  retaining  the  heat  of  the  sun,  are  in- 
tolerably warm.  I  am,  nevertheless,  very  well;  for 
though  there  is  a  shrewdness  in  the  character  of  these 
people,  depraved  by  a  sordid  love  of  money  which  re- 
pels me,  still  the  comparisons  they  force  me  to  make 
keep  my  heart  calm  by  exercising  my  understanding. 

Everywhere  wealth  commands  too  much  respect,  but 
here  almost  exclusively ;  and  it  is  the  only  object  pur- 
sued, not  through  brake  and  briar,  but  over  rocks  and 
waves  ;  yet  of  what  use  would  riches  be  to  rue,  I  have 
sometimes  asked  myself,  were  I  confined  to  live  iu  such 
a  spot  ?  I  could  only  relieve  a  few  distressed  objects, 
perhaps  render  them  idle,  and  all  the  rest  of  life  would 
be  a  blank. 

My  present  journey  has  given  fresh  force  to  my 
opinion  that  no  place  is  so  disagreeable  and  unimprov- 
ing  as  a  country  town.  I  should  like  to  divide  my  time 
between  the  town  and  country ;  in  a  lone  house,  with 
the  business  of  farming  and  planting,  where  my  mind 
would  gain  strength  by  solitary  musing,  and  iu  a 
metropolis  to  rub  off  the  rust  of  thought,  and  polish 
the  taste  which  the  contemplation  of  nature  had  ren- 
dered just.  Thus  do  we  wish  as  we  float  down  the 


106  LETTERS   ON  SWEDEN, 

stream  of  life,  whilst  chance  does  more  to  gratify  a 
desire  of  knowledge  than  our  best  laid  plans.  A  degree 
of  exertion,  produced  by  some  want,  more  or  less  pain- 
ful, is  probably  the  price  we  must  all  pay  for  know- 
ledge. How  few  authors  or  artists  have  arrived  at 
eminence  who  have  not  lived  by  their  employment  ? 

I  was  interrupted  yesterday  by  business,  and  was 
prevailed  upon  to  dine  with  the  English  vice-consul. 
His  house  being  open  to  the  sea,  I  was  more  at  large  ; 
and  the  hospitality  of  the  table  pleased  rue,  though  the 
bottle  was  rather  too  freely  pushed  about.  Their 
manner  of  entertaining  was  such  as  I  have  frequently 
remarked  when  I  have  been  thrown  in  the  way  of  people 
without  education,  who  have  more  money  than  wit — 
that  is,  than  they  know  what  to  do  with.  The  women 
were  unaffected,  but  had  not  the  natural  grace  which 
was  often  conspicuous  at  Tousberg.  There  was  even 
a  striking  difference  in  their  dress,  these  having  loaded 
themselves  with  finery  in  the  style  of  the  sailors'  girls 
of  Hull  or  Portsmouth.  Taste  has  not  yet  taught 
them  to  make  any  but  an  ostentatious  display  of  wealth. 
Yet  I  could  perceive  even  here  the  first  steps  of  the 
improvement  which  I  am  persuaded  will  make  a  very 
obvious  progress  in  the  course  of  half  a  century,  and  it 
ought  not  to  be  sooner,  to  keep  pace  with  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  earth.  Improving  manners  will  introduce 
finer  moral  feelings.  They  begin  to  read  translations 
of  some  of  the  most  useful  German  productions  lately 
published,  and  one  of  our  party  sung  a  song  ridiculing 
the  powers  coalesced  against  France,  and  the  company 
drank  confusion  to  those  who  had  dismembered  Poland. 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  107 

The  evening  was  extremely  calm  and  beautiful.  Not 
being  able  to  walk,  I  requested  a  boat  as  the  only  means 
of  enjoying  free  air. 

The  view  of  the  town  was  now  extremely  fine.  A 
huge  rocky  mountain  stood  up  behind  it,  and  a  vast 
cliif  stretched  on  each  side,  forming  a  semicircle.  In 
a  recess  of  the  rocks  was  a  clump  of  pines,  amongst 
which  a  steeple  rose  picturesquely  beautiful. 

The  churchyard  is  almost  the  only  verdant  spot  in 
the  place.  Here,  indeed,  friendship  extends  beyond  the 
grave,  and  to  grant  a  sod  of  earth  is  to  accord  a  favour. 
I  should  rather  choose,  did  it  admit  of  a  choice,  to  sleep 
in  some  of  the  caves  of  the  rocks,  for  I  am  become 
better  reconciled  to  them  since  I  climbed  their  craggy 
sides  last  night,  listening  to  the  finest  echoes  I  ever 
heard.  We  had  a  French  horn  with  us,  and  there  was 
an  enchanting  wildness  in  the  dying  away  of  the  rever- 
beration that  quickly  transported  me  to  Shakespeare's 
magic  island.  Spirits  unseen  seemed  to  walk  abroad, 
and  flit  from  cliff  to  cliff  to  soothe  my  soul  to  peace. 

I  reluctantly  returned  to  supper,  to  be  shut  up  in  a 
warm  room,  only  to  view  the  vast  shadows  of  the  rocks 
extending  on  the  slumbering  waves.  I  stood  at  the 
window  some  time  before  a  buz/;  filled  the  drawing- 
room,  and  now  and  then  the  dashing  of  a  solitary  oar 
rendered  the  scene  still  more  solemn. 

Before  I  came  here  I  could  scarcely  have  imagined 
that  a  simple  object  (rocks)  could  have  admitted  of  so 
many  interesting  combinations,  always  grand  and  often 
sublime.  Good  night !  God  bless  you ! 


108  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 


LETTER  XII. 

I  LEFT  East  Rusoer  the  day  before  yesterday.  The 
weather  was  very  fine ;  but  so  calm  that  we  loitered  on 
the  water  near  fourteen  hours,  only  to  make  about  six 
and  twenty  miles. 

It  seemed  to  me  a  sort  of  emancipation  when  we 
landed  at  Helgeraac.  The  confinement  which  every- 
where struck  me  whilst  sojourning  amongst  the  rocks, 
made  me  hail  the  earth  as  a  land  of  promise  ;  and  the 
situation  shone  with  fresh  lustre  from  the  contrast — 
from  appearing  to  be  a  free  abode.  Here  it  was 
possible  to  travel  by  land — I  never  thought  this  a 
comfort  before — and  my  eyes,  fatigued  by  the  sparkling 
of  the  sun  on  the  water,  now  contentedly  reposed  on  the 
green  expanse,  half  persuaded  that  such  verdant  meads 
had  never  till  then  regaled  them. 

I  rose  early  to  pursue  my  journey  to  Tonsberg.  The 
country  still  wore  a  face  of  joy — and  my  soul  was  alive 
to  its  charms.  Leaving  the  most  lofty  and  romantic 
of  the  cliffs  behind  us,  we  were  almost  continually 
descending  to  Tonsberg,  through  Elysian  scenes ;  for 
not  only  the  sea,  but  mountains,  rivers,  lakes,  and 
groves,  gave  an  almost  endless  variety  to  the  prospect. 
The  cottagers  were  still  carrying  home  the  hay ;  and 
the  cottages  on  this  road  looked  very  comfortable. 
Peace  and  plenty — I  mean  not  abundance — seemed  to 
reign  around — still  I  grew  sad  as  I  drew  near  my  old 
abode.  I  was  sorry  to  see  the  sun  so  high ;  it  was 
broad  noon.  Tonsberg  was  something  like  a  home — 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  10j 

yet  I  was  to  enter  without  lighting  up  pleasure  in  any 
eye.  I  dreaded  the  solitariness  of  my  apartment,  and 
wished  for  night  to  hide  the  starting  tears,  or  to  shed 
them  on  my  pillow,  and "  close  my  eyes  on  a  world 
where  I  was  destined  to  wander  alone.  Why  has 
nature  so  many  charms  for  me — calling  forth  and 
cherishing  refined  sentiments,  only  to  wound  the  breast 
that  fosters  them  ?  How  illusive,  perhaps  the  most  so, 
are  the  plans  of  happiness  founded  on  virtue  and 
principle  ;  what  inlets  of  misery  do  they  not  open  in  a 
half-civilised  society?  The  satisfaction  arising  from 
conscious  rectitude,  will  not  calm  an  injured  heart, 
when  tenderness  is  ever  finding  excuses ;  and  self  - 
applause  is  a  cold  solitary  feeling,  that  cannot  supply 
the  place  of  disappointed  affection,  without  throwing  a 
gloom  over  every  prospect,  which,  banishing  pleasure 
does  not  exclude  pain.  I  reasoned  and  reasoned;  but 
my  heart  was  too  full  to  allow  me  to  remain  in  the 
house,  and  I  walked,  till  I  was  wearied  out,  to  purchase 
rest — or  rather  forge tfulness. 

Employment  has  beguiled  this  day,  and  to-morrow 
I  set  out  for  Moss,  on  my  way  to  Stromstad.  At 
Gothenburg  I  shall  embrace  my  Fanuikiu ;  probably 
she  will  not  know  me  again — and  I  shall  be  hurt  if  sho 
do  not.  How  childish  is  this  !  still  it  is  a  uatur.il 
feeling.  I  would  not  permit  myself  to  indulge  ihe 
"thick  coming  fears"  of  fondness,  whilst  I  was 
detained  by  business.  Yet  I  never  saw  a  calf  bound- 
ing in  a  meadow,  that  did  not  remind  me  of  my  littlo 
frolicker.  A  calf,  you  say.  Yes;  but  a  capital  one 
I  own. 


110  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

I  cannot  write  composedly — I  am  every  instant 
sinking  into  reveries — my  heart  flutters,  I  know  not. 
wliy.  Fool !  It  is  time  thou  wert  at  rest. 

Friendship  and  domestic  happiness  are  continually 
praised ;  yet  how  little  is  there  of  either  in  the  world, 
because  it  requires  more  cultivation  of  mind  to  keep 
awake  affection,  even  in.  our  own  hearts,  than  the  com- 
mon run  of  people  suppose.  Besides,  few  like  to  be 
seen  as  they  really  are ;  and  a  degree  of  simplicity, 
and  of  undisguised  confidence,  which,  to  uninterested 
observers,  would  almost  border  on  weakness,  is  the 
charm,  nay  the  essence  of  love  or  friendship,  all  the 
bewitching  graces  of  childhood  again  appearing.  As 
objects  merely  to  exercise  my  taste,  I  therefore  like  to 
see  people  together  who  have  an  affection  for  each 
other ;  every  turn  of  their  features  touches  me,  and 
remains  pictured  on  my  imagination  in  indelible 
characters.  The  zest  of  novelty  is,  however,  necessary 
to  rouse  the  languid  sympathies  which  have  been 
hackneyed  in  the  world ;  as  is  the  factitious  behaviour 
falsely  termed  good-breeding,  to  amuse  those,  who, 
defective  in  taste,  continually  rely  for  pleasure  on  their 
animal  spirits,  which  not  being  maintained  by  the 
imagination,  are  unavoidably  sooner  exhausted  than 
the  sentiments  of  the  heart.  Friendship  is  in  general 
sincere  at  the  commencement,  and  lasts  whilst  there  is 
anything  to  support  it ;  but  as  a  mixture  of  novelty 
and  vanity  is  the  usual  prop,  no  wonder  if  it  fall  with 
the  slender  stay.  The  fop  in  the  play  paid  a  greater 
compliment  than  he  was  aware  of  when  he  said  to 
a  person,  whom  he  meant  to  flatter,  "  I  like  you  almost 


NORWAY,  AND  DENMARK.          Ill 

as  well  as  a  new  acquaintance."  Why  am  I  talking  of 
friendship,  after  which  I  have  had  such  a  wild-goose 
chase.  I  thought  only  of  telling  you  that  the  crows, 
as  well  as  wild-geese,  are  here  birds  of  passage. 


LETTER   XIII. 

I  LEFT  Tonsberg  yesterday,  the  22nd  of  August.  It  is 
only  twelve  or  thirteen  English  miles  to  Moss,  through 
a  country  less  wild  than  any  tract  I  had  hitherto  passed 
over  in  Norway.  It  was  often  beautiful,  but  seldom 
afforded  those  grand  views  which  fill  rather  than  soothe 
the  mind. 

We  glided  along  the  meadows  and  through  the  woods, 
with  sunbeams  playing  around  us;  and,  though  no 
castles  adorned  the  prospects,  a  greater  number  of 
comfortable  farms  met  my  eyes  during  this  ride  than 
I  have  ever  seen,  in  the  same  space,  even  in  the  most 
cultivated  part  of  England  ;  and  the  very  appearance 
of  the  cottages  of  the  labourers  sprinkled  amidst  them 
excluded  all  those  gloomy  ideas  inspired  by  the  con- 
templation of  poverty. 

The  hay  was  still  bringing  in,  for  one  harvest  in 
Norway  treads  on  the  heels  of  the  other.  The  woods 
were  more  variegated,  interspersed  with  shrubs.  We 
no  longer  passed  through  forests  of  vast  pines  stretch- 
ing along  with  savage  magnificence.  Forests  that  only 
exhibited  the  slow  decay  of  time  or  the  devastation  pro- 
duced by  warring  elements.  No ;  oaks,  ashes,  beech, 


1112  LETTERS   ON    SWEDEN, 

and  all  the  light  and  graceful  tenants  of  our  woods  here 
sported  Inxuriantly.  I  had  not  observed  many  oaks 
before,  for  the  greater  part  of  the  oak-planks,  I  am  in- 
formed, come  from  the  westward. 

In  France  the  farmers  generally  live  in  villages, 
which  is  a  great  disadvantage  to  the  country ;  but  the 
Norwegian  farmers,  always  owning  their  farms  or 
being  tenants  for  life,  reside  in  the  midst  of  them, 
allowing  some  labourers  a  dwelling  rent  free,  who  have 
a  little  land  appertaining  to  the  cottage,  not  only  for  a 
garden,  but  for  crops  of  different  kinds,  such  as  rye, 
oats,  buck- wheat,  hemp,  flax,  beans,  potatoes,  and  hay, 
which  are  sown  in  strips  about  it,  reminding  a  stranger 
of  the  first  attempts  at  culture,  when  every  family  was 
obliged  to  be  an  independent  community. 

These  cottagers  work  at  a  certain  price  (teupence 
per  day)  for  the  farmers  on  whose  ground  they  live, 
and  they  have  spare  time  enough  to  cultivate  their  own 
land  and  lay  in  a  store  of  fish  for  the  winter.  Th" 
wives  and  daughters  spin  and  the  husbands  and  sons 
weave,  so  that  they  may  fairly  be  reckoned  independent, 
1  uiving  also  a  little  money  in  hand  to  buy  coffee,  brandy, 
and  some  other  superfluities. 

The  only  thing  I  disliked  was  the  military  service, 
which  trammels  them  more  than  I  at  first  imagined. 
It,  is  true  that  the  militia  is  only  called  out  once  a  year, 
yet  in  case  of  war  they  have  no  alternative  but  must 
abandon  their  families.  Even  the  manufacturers  are 
not  exempted,  though  the  miners  are,  in  order  to  en- 
courage undertakings  which  require  a  capital  at  the 
commencement,  Ancl,  what  appears  more  tyrannical, 


NORWAY,    AND    DENMARK.  113 

the  inhabitants  of  certain  districts  are  appointed  for 
the  laud,  others  for  the  sea  service.  Consequently,  a 
poasant,  born  a  soldier,  is  not  permitted  to  follow  his 
inclination  should  it  lead  him  to  go  to  sea,  a  natural 
desire  near  so  many  seaports. 

In  these  regulations  the  arbitrary  government— the 
King  of  Denmark  being  the  most  absolute  monarch  in 
Europe — appears,  which  in  other  respects  seeks  to  hide 
itself  in  a  lenity  that  almost  renders  the  laws  nullities. 
If  any  alteration  of  old  customs  is  thought  of,  the 
opinion  of  the  old  country  is  required  and  maturely 
considered.  I  have  several  times  had  occasion  to 
observe  that,  fearing  to  appear  tyrannical,  laws  are 
allowed  to  become  obsolete  which  ought  to  be  put  in 
force  or  better  substituted  in  their  stead  ;  for  this  mis- 
taken moderation,  which  borders  on  timidity,  favours 
the  least  respectable  part  of  the  people. 

I  saw  on  my  way  not  only  good  parsonage  houses, 
but  comfortable  dwellings,  with  glebe  land  for  the 
clerk,  always  a  consequential  man  in  every  country,  a 
being  proud  of  a  little  smattering  of  learning,  to  use 
the  appropriate  epithet,  and  vain  of  the  stiff  good- 
breeding  reflected  from  the  vicar,  though  the  servility 
practised  in  his  company  gives  it  a  peculiar  cast. 

The  widow  of  the  clergyman  is  allowed  to  receive 
the  benefit  of  the  living  for  a  twelvemonth  after  the 
death  of  the  incumbent. 

Arriving  at  the  ferry  (the  passage  over  to  Moss  is 
about  six  or  eight  English  miles)  I  saw  the  most  level 
shore  I  had  yet  seen  in  Norway.  The  appearance  of 
the  circumjacent  country  had' been  preparing  me  for 


114  LETTERS   ON    SWEDEN, 

the  change  of  scene  which  was  to  greet  me  when  1 
reached  the  coast.  For  the  grand  features  of  nature 
had  been  dwindling  into  prettiuess  as  I  advanced ;  yet 
the  rocks,  on  a  smaller  scale,  were  finely  wooded  to  the 
water's  edge.  Little  art  appeared,  yet  sublimity  every- 
where gave  place  to  elegance.  The  road  had  often  as- 
sumed the  appearance  of  a  gravelled  one,  made  in 
pleasure-grounds ;  whilst  the  trees  excited  only  an  idea 
of  embellishment.  Meadows,  like  lawns,  in  an  endless 
variety,  displayed  the  careless  graces  of  nature ;  and 
the  ripening  corn  gave  a  richness  to  the  landscape 
analogous  with  the  other  objects. 

Never  was  a  southern  sky  more  beautiful,  nor  more 
soft  its  gales.  Indeed,  I  am  led  to  conclude  that  the 
sweetest  summer  in  the  world  is  the  northern  one, 
the  vegetation  being  quick  and  luxuriant  the  moment 
the  earth  is  loosened  from  its  icy  fetters  and  the  bound 
streams  regain  their  wonted  activity.  The  balance  of 
happiness  with  respect  to  climate  may  be  more  equal 
than  I  at  first  imagined  ;  for  the  inhabitants  describe 
with  warmth  the  pleasures  of  a  winter  at  the  thoughts 
of  which  I  shudder.  Not  only  their  parties  of  pleasure 
but  of  business  are  reserved  for  this  season,  when  they 
travel  with  astonishing  rapidity  the  most  direct  way, 
skimming  over  hedge  and  ditch. 

On  entering  Moss  I  was  struck  by  the  animation 
which  seemed  to  result  from  industry.  The  richest 
of  the  inhabitants  keep  shops,  resembling  in  their 
manners  and  even  the  arrangement  of  their  houses 
the  tradespeople  of  Yorkshire ;  with  an  air  of  more 
independence,  or  rather  consequence,  from  feeling 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  115 

themselves  the  first  people  iii  the  place.  I  had  iiot 
time  to  see  the  iron- works,  belonging  to  Mr.  Anker, 
of  Christiania,  a  man  of  fortune  and  enterprise ;  and  I 
was  not  very  anxious  to  see  them  after  having  viewed 
those  at  Laurvig. 

Here  I  met  with  an  intelligent  literary  man,  who 
was  anxious  to  gather  information  from  me  relative  to 
the  past  and  present  situation  of  France.  The  news- 
papers printed  at  Copenhagen,  as  well  as  those  in 
England,  give  the  most  exaggerated  accounts  of  their 
atrocities  and  distresses,  but  the  former  without  any 
apparent  comments  or  inferences.  Still  the4  Nor- 
wegians, though  more  connected  with  the  English, 
speaking  their  language  and  copying  their  manners, 
wish  well  to  the  Republican  cause,  and  follow  with  the 
most  lively  interest  the  successes  of  the  French  arms. 
So  determined  were  they,  in  fact,  to  excuse  everything, 
disgracing  the  struggle  of  freedom,  by  admitting  the 
tyrant's  plea,  necessity,  that  I  could  hardly  persuade 
them  that  Robespierre  was  a  monster. 

The  discussion  of  this  subject  is  not  so  general  as  in 
England,  being  confined  to  the  few,  the  clergy  and 
physicians,  with  a  small  portion  of  people  who  have  a 
literary  turn  and  leisure;  the  greater  part  of  the 
inhabitants  having  a  variety  of  occupations,  being 
owners  of  ships,  shopkeepers,  and  farmers,  have  em- 
ployment enough  at  home.  And  their  ambition  to 
become  rich  may  tend  to  cultivate  the  common  sense 
which  characterises  and  narrows  both  their  hearts  and 
views,  confining  the  former  to  their  families,  taking 
the  handmaids  of  it  into  the  circle  of  pleasure,  if  not 


116  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

of  interest,  and  the  latter  to  the  inspection  of  their 
workmen,  including  the  noble  science  of  bargain  - 
making — that  is,  getting  everything  at  the  cheapest, 
and  selling  it  at  the  dearest  rate.  I  am  now  more  than 
ever  convinced  that  it  is  an  intercourse  with  men  of 
science  and  artists  which  not  only  diffuses  taste,  but 
gives  that  freedom  to  the  understanding  without  which 
I  have  seldom  met  with  much  benevolence  of  character 
on  a  large  scale. 

Besides,  though  you  do  not  hear  of  much  pilfering 
and  stealing  in  Norway,  yet  they  will,  with  a  quiet 
conscience,  buy  things  at  a  price  which  must  convince 
them  they  were  stolen.  I  had  an  opportunity  of  know- 
ing that  two  or  three  reputable  people  had  purchased 
some  articles  of  vagrants,  who  were  detected.  How 
much  of  the  virtue  which  appears  in  the  world  is  put 
on  for  the  world  ?  And  how  little  dictated  by  self- 
respect  ?—  so  little,  that  I  am  ready  to  repeat  the  old 
question,  and  ask,  Where  is  truth,  or  rather  principle, 
to  be  found  ?  These  are,  perhaps,  the  vapourings  of  a 
heart  ill  at  ease — the  effusions  of  a  sensibility  wounded 
almost  to  madness.  But  enough  of  this  ;  we  will  dis- 
cuss the  subject  in  another  state  of  existence,  where 
truth  and  justice  will  reign.  How  cruel  are  the 
injuries  which  make  us  quarrel  with  human  nature  ! 
At  present  black  melancholy  hovers  round  my  foot- 
steps ;  and  sorrow  sheds  a  mildew  over  all  the  future 
prospects,  which  hope  no  longer  gilds. 

A  rainy  morning  prevented  my  enjoying  the  pleasure1 
the  view  of  a  picturesque  country  would  have  afforded 
nit: ;  for  though  this  road  passed  through  a  country  a 


NORWAY,  AND  DENMARK.          117 

greater  extent  of  which  was  under  cultivation  than  I 
had  usually  seen  here,  it  nevertheless  retained  all  the 
wild  charms  of  Norway.  Rocks  still  enclosed  the 
valleys,  the  great  sides  of  which  enlivened  their  ver- 
dure. Lakes  appeared  like  branches  of  the  sea,  and 
branches  of  the  sea  assumed  the  appearance  of  tranquil 
lakes ;  whilst  streamlets  prattled  amongst  the  pebbles 
and  the  broken  mass  of  stone  which  had  rolled  into 
them,  giving  fantastic  turns  to  the  trees,  the  roots  of 
which  they  bared. 

It  is  not,  in  fact,  surprising  that  the  pine  should  be 
often  undermined ;  it  shoots  its  fibres  in  such  a  hori- 
zontal direction,  merely  on  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
requiring  only  enough  to  cover  those  that  cling  to  the 
crags.  Nothing  proves  to  me  so  clearly  that  it  is  the 
air  which  principally  nourishes  trees  and  plants  as 
the  flourishing  appearance  of  these  pines.  The  firs, 
demanding  a  deeper  soil,  are  seldom  seen  in  equal 
health,  or  so  numerous  on  the  barren  cliffs.  They 
take  shelter  in  the  crevices,  or  where,  after  some  re- 
volving ages,  the  pines  have  prepared  them  a  footing. 

Approaching,  or  rather  descending,  to  Christiania, 
though  the  weather  continued  a  little  cloudy,  my  eyes 
were  charmed  with  the  view  of  an  extensive  undulated 
valley,  stretching  out  under  the  shelter  of  a  noble 
amphitheatre  of  pine-covered  mountains.  Farm  houses 
scattered  about  animated,  nay,  graced  a  scene  which  still 
retained  so  much  of  its  native  wildness,  that  the  art 
which  appeared  seemed  so  necessary,  it  was  scarcely 
perceived.  Cattle  were  grazing  in  the  shaven  meadows  ; 
and  the  lively  green  on  their  swelling  sides  contrasted 


118  LETTERS   ON    SWEDEN, 

with  the  ripening  corn  and  rye.  The  corn  that  grew 
on  the  slopes  had  not,  indeed,  the  laughing  luxuriance 
of  plenty,  which  I  have  seen  in  more  genial  dimes.  A 
fresh  breeze  swept  across  the  grain,  parting  its  slender 
stalks,  but  the  wheat  did  not  wave  its  head  with  its 
wonted  careless  dignity,  as  if  nature  had  crowned  it 
the  king  of  plants. 

The  view,  immniediately  on  the  left,  as  we  drove 
down  the  mountain,  was  almost  spoilt  by  the  depreda- 
tions committed  on  the  rocks  to  make  alum.  I  do  not 
know  the  process.  I  only  saw  that  the  rocks  looked 
red  after  they  had  been  burnt,  and  regretted  that  the 
operation  should  leave  a  quantity  of  rubbish  to  intro- 
duce an  image  of  human  industry  in  the  shape  of  des- 
truction. The  situation  of  Christiania  is  certainly 
uncommonly  fine,  and  I  never  saw  a  bay  that  so  forcibly 
gave  me  an  idea  of  a  place  of  safety  from  the  storms  of 
the  ocean ;  all  the  surrounding  objects  were  beautiful 
and  even  grand.  But  neither  the  rocky  mountains, 
nor  the  woods  that  graced  them,  could  be  compared 
with  the  sublime  prospects  I  had  seen  to  the  westward ; 
and  as  for  the  hills,  "capped  with  eternal  snow,"  Mr. 
Coxe's  description  led  me  to  look  for  them,  but  they 
had  flown,  for  I  looked  vainly  around  for  this  noble 
background. 

A  few  months  ago  the  people  of  Christiania  rose, 
exasperated  by  the  scarcity  and  consequent  high  price 
of  grain.  The  immediate  cause  was  the  shipping  of 
some,  said  to  be  for  Moss,  but  which  they  suspected 
was  only  a  pretext  to  send  it  out  of  the  country,  and  I 
am  not  sure  that  they  were  wrong  in  their  conjecture. 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  119 

Such  are  the  tricks  of  trade.  They  threw  stones  at 
Mr.  Anker,  the  owner  of  it,  as  he  rode  out  of  town  to 
escape  from  their  fury ;  they  assembled  about  his 
house,  and  the  people  demanded  afterwards,  with  so 
much  impetuosity,  the  liberty  of  those  who  were  taken 
up  in  consequence  of  the  tumult,  that  the  Grand 
Bailiff  thought  it  prudent  to  release  them  without 
further  altercation. 

You  may  think  me  too  severe  on  commerce,  but 
from  the  manner  it  is  at  present  carried  on  little  can 
be  advanced  in  favour  of  a  pursuit  that  wears  out  the 
most  sacred  principles  of  humanity  and  rectitude. 
What  is  speculation  but  a  species  of  gambling,  I  might 
have  said  fraud,  in  which  address  generally  gains  the 
prize  ?  I  was  led  into  these  reflections  when  I  heard 
of  some  tricks  practised  by  merchants,  miscalled  repu- 
table, and  certainly  men  of  property,  during  the  present 
war,  in  which  common  honesty  was  violated  :  damaged 
goods  and  provision  having  been  shipped  for  the 
express  purpose  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
English,  who  had  pledged  themselves  to  reimburse 
neutral  nations  for  the  cargoes  they  seized;  cannon 
also,  sent  back  as  unfit  for  service,  have  been  shipped 
as  a  good  speculation,  the  captain  receiving  orders  to 
cruise  about  till  he  fell  in  with  an  English  frigate. 
Many  individuals  I  believe  have  suffered  by  the  seizures 
of  their  vessels ;  still  I  am  persuaded  that  the  English 
Government  has  been  very  much  imposed  upon  in  the 
charges  made  by  merchants  who  contrived  to  get  their 
ships  taken.  This  censure  is  not  confined  to  the  Danes. 


120  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

Adieu,  for  the  present,  I  must  take  advantage  of  a 
moment  of  fine  weather  to  walk  out  and  see  the  town. 

At  Christiauia  I  met  with  that  polite  reception, 
which  rather  characterises  the  progress  of  manners  in 
the  world,  than  of  any  particular  portion  of  it.  The 
first  evening  of  my  arrival  I  supped  with  some  of  the 
most  fashionable  people  of  the  place,  and  almost 
imagined  myself  in  a  circle  of  English  ladies,  so  much 
did  they  resemble  them  in  manners,  dress,  and  even  in 
beauty ;  for  the  fairest  of  my  countrywomen  would  not 
have  been  sorry  to  rank  with  the  Grand  Bailiff's  lady. 
There  were  several  pretty  girls  present,  but  she  out- 
shone  them  all,  and,  what  interested  me  still  more,  I 
could  not  avoid  observing  that  in  acquiring  the  easy 
politeness  which  distinguishes  people  of  quality,  she 
had  preserved  her  Norwegian  simplicity.  There  was, 
in  fact,  a  graceful  timidity  in  her  address,  inexpressibly 
charming.  This  surprised  me  a  little,  because  her 
husband  was  quite  a  Frenchman  of  the  ancien  regime, 
or  rather  a  courtier,  the  same  kind  of  animal  in  every 
country. 

Here  I  saw  the  cloven  foot  of  despotism.  I  boasted 
to  you  that  they  had  no  viceroy  in  Norway,  but  these 
Grand  Bailiffs,  particularly  the  superior  one,  who 
resides  at  Christiania,  are  political  monsters  of  the  same 
species.  Needy  sycophants  are  provided  for  by  their 
relations  and  connections  at  Copenhagen  as  at  other 
courts.  And  though  the  Norwegians  are  not  in  the 
abject  state  of  the  Irish,  yet  this  second-hand  govern- 
ment is  still  felt  by  their  being  deprived  of  several 
natural  advantages  to  benefit  the  domineering  state. 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  121 

The  Grand  Bailiffs  are  mostly  noblemen  from 
Copenhagen,  who  act  as  men  of  common  minds  will 
always  act  in  such  situations — aping  a  degree  of 
courtly  parade  which  clashes  with  the  independent 
character  of  a  magistrate.  Besides,  they  have  a  degree 
of  power  over  the  country  judges,  which  some  of  them, 
who  exercise  a  jurisdiction  truly  patriarchal,  most 
painfully  feel.  I  can  scarcely  say  why,  my  friend,  hut 
in  this  city  thoughtfulness  seemed  to  be  sliding  into 
melancholy  or  rather  dullness.  The  fire  of  fancy, 
which  had  been  kept  alive  in  the  country,  was  almost 
extinguished  by  reflections  on  the  ills  that  harass  such 
a  large  portion  of  mankind.  I  felt  like  a  bird  flutter- 
ing on  the  ground  unable  to  mount,  yet  unwilling  to 
crawl  tranquilly  like  a  reptile,  whilst  still  conscious  it 
had  wings. 

1  walked  out,  for  the  open  air  is  always  my  remedy 
when  an  aching  head  proceeds  from  an  oppressed  heart. 
Chance  directed  my  steps  towards  the  fortress,  and  the 
sight  of  the  slaves,  working  with  chains  on  their  legs, 
only  served  to  embitter  me  still  more  against  the 
regulations  of  society,  which  treated  knaves  in  such  a 
different  manner,  especially  as  there  was  a  degree  of 
energy  in  some  of  their  countenances  which  unavoid- 
ably excited  my  attention,  and  almost  created  respect. 

I  wished  to  have  seen,  through  an  iron  grate,  the 
face  of  a  man  who  has  been  confined  six  years  for 
having  induced  the  farmers  to  revolt  against  some 
impositions  of  the  Government.  I  could  not  obtain  a 
clear  account  of  the  affair,  yet,  as  the  complaint  was 
against  some  farmers  of  taxes,  I  am  inclined  to  believe 


122  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

that  it  was  not  totally  without  foundation.  He  must 
have  possessed  some  eloquence,  or  have  had  truth  on 
his  side ;  for  the  farmers  rose  by  hundreds  to  support 
him,  and  were  very  much  exasperated  at  his  imprison- 
ment, which  will  probably  last  for  life,  though  he  has 
sent  several  very  spirited  remonstrances  to  the  upper 
court,  which  makes  the  judges  so  averse  to  giving  a 
sentence  which  may  be  cavilled  at,  that  they  take 
advantage  of  the  glorious  uncertainty  of  the  law,  to 
protract  a  decision  which  is  only  to  be  regulated  by 
reasons  of  state. 

The  greater  number  of  the  slaves  I  saw  here  were 
not  confined  for  life.  Their  labour  is  not  hard ;  and 
they  work  in  the  open  air,  which  prevents  their  consti- 
tutions from  suffering  by '.imprisonment.  Still,  as  they 
are  allowed  to  associate  together,  and  boast  of  their 
dexterity,  not  only  to  each  other  but  to  the  soldiers 
around  them,  in  the  garrison,  they  commonly,  it  is 
natural  to  conclude,  go  out  more  confirmed  and  more 
expert  knaves  than  when  they  entered. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  trace  the  origin  of  the  associa- 
tion of  ideas  which  led  me  to  think  that  the  stars  and 
gold  keys,  which  surrounded  me  the  evening  before, 
disgraced  the  wearers  as  much  as  the  fetters  I  was 
viewing — perhaps  more.  I  even  began  to  investigate 
the  reason,  which  led  me  to  suspect  that  the  former 
produced  the  latter. 

The  Norwegians  are  extravagantly  fond  of  courtly 
distinction,  and  of  titles,  though  they  have  no  immuni- 
ties annexed  to  them,  and  are  easily  purchased.  The 
proprietors  of  mines  have  many  privileges:  they  are 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  123 

almost  exempt  from  taxes,  and  the  peasantry  born  on 
their  estates,  as  well  as  those  on  the  counts',  are  not 
born  soldiers  or  sailors. 

One  distinction,  or  rather  trophy  of  nobility,  which 
might  have  occurred  to  the  Hottentots,  amused  me ;  it 
was  a  bunch  of  hog's  bristles  placed  on  the  horses 
heads,  surmounting  that  part  of  the  harness  to  which 
a  round  piece  of  brass  often  dangles,  fatiguing  the  eye 
with  its  idle  motion. 

From  the  fortress  I  returned  to  my  lodging,  and 
quickly  was  taken  out  of  town  to  be  shown  a  pretty 
villa,  and  English  garden.  To  a  Norwegian  both 
might  have  been  objects  of  curiosity ;  and  of  use,  by 
exciting  to  the  comparison  which  leads  to  improvement. 
But  whilst  I  gazed,  I  was  employed  in  restoring  the 
place  to  nature,  or  taste,  by  giving  it  the  character  of 
the  surrounding  scene.  Serpentine  walks,  and  flower- 
ing shrubs,  looked  trifling  in  a  grand  recess  of  the 
rocks,  shaded  by  towering  pines.  Groves  of  smaller 
trees  might  have  been  sheltered  under  them,  which 
would  have  melted  into  the  landscape,  displaying  only 
the  art  which  ought  to  point  out  the  vicinity  of  a 
human  abode,  furnished  with  some  elegance.  But  few 
people  have  sufficient  taste  to  discern,  that  the  art  of 
embellishing  consists  in  interesting,  not  in  astonishing. 

Christiania  is  certainly  very  pleasantly  situated,  and 
the  environs  I  passed  through,  during  this  ride,  af- 
forded many  fine  and  cultivated  prospects  ;  but,  except- 
ing the  first  view  approaching  to  it,  rarely  present  any 
combination  of  objects  so  strikingly  new,  or  picturesque, 
as  to  command  remembrance.  Adieu ! 


LETTERS   ON   (SWEDEN 


LETTER    XIV. 

CHRISTIANIA  is  a  clean,  neat  city ;  but  it  has  none  of 
the  graces  of  architecture,  which  ought  to  keep  pace 
with  the  refining  manners  of  a  people — or  the  outside 
of  the  house  will  disgrace  the  inside,  giving  the 
beholder  an  idea  of  overgrown  wealth  devoid  of  taste. 
Large  square  woodeii  houses  offend  the  eye,  displaying 
more  than  Gothic  barbarism.  Huge  G-othic  piles,  in- 
deed, exhibit  a  characteristic  sublimity,  and  a  wilduess 
of  fancy  peculiar  to  the  period  when  they  were  erected ; 
but  size,  without  grandeur  or  elegance,  has  an  emphati- 
cal  stamp  of  meanness,  of  poverty  of  conception,  which 
only  a  commercial  spirit  could  give. 

The  same  thought  has  struck  me,  when  I  have  en- 
tered the  meeting-house  of  my  respected  friend,  Dr. 
Price.  I  am  surprised  that  the  dissenters,  who  have 
not  laid  aside  all  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  life,  should 
imagine  a  noble  pillar,  or  arch,  unhallowed.  Whilst 
men  have  senses,  whatever  soothes  them  lends  wings 
to  devotion ;  else  why  do  the  beauties  of  nature,  where 
all  that  charm  them  are  spread  around  with  a  lavish 
hand,  force  even  the  sorrowing  heart  to  acknowledge 
that  existence  is  a  blessing  ?  and  this  acknowledgment 
is  the  most  sublime  homage  we  can  pay  to  the  Deity. 

The  argument  of  convenience  is  absurd.  Who 
would  labour  for  wealth,  if  it  were  to  procure  nothing 
but  conveniences  ?  If  we  wish  to  render  mankind 
moral  from  principle,  we  must,  I  am  persuaded,  give  a 
greater  scope  to  the  enjoyments  of  the  senses  by 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  125 

blending  taste  with  them.  This  has  frequently  oc- 
curred to  me  since  I  have  been  in  the  north,  and 
observed  that  there  sanguine  characters  always  take 
refuge  in  drunkenness  after  the  fire  of  youth  is  spent. 

But  I  have  flown  from  Norway.  To  go  back  to  the 
wooden  houses  ;  farms  constructed  with  logs,  and  even 
little  villages,  here  erected  in  the  same  simple  manner, 
have  appeared  to  me  very  picturesque.  In  the  more  re- 
mote parts  I  had  been  particularly  pleased  with  many 
cottages  situated  close  to  a  brook,  or  bordering  on  a 
lake,  with  the  whole  farm  contiguous.  As  the  family 
increases,  a  little  more  land  is  cultivated;  thus  the 
country  is  obviously  enriched  by  population.  Formerly 
the  farmers  might  more  justly  have  been  termed  wood- 
cutters. But  now  they  find  it  necessary  to  spare  the 
woods  a  little,  and  this  change  will  be  universally 
beneficial ;  for  whilst  they  lived  entirely  by  selling  the 
trees  they  felled,  they  did  not  pay  sufficient  attention 
to  husbandry ;  consequently,  advanced  very  slowly  in 
agricultural  knowledge.  Necessity  will  in  future  more 
and  more  spur  them  on ;  for  the  ground,  cleared  of 
wood,  must  be  cultivated,  or  the  farm  loses  its  value ; 
there  is  no  waiting  for  food  till  another  generation  of 
pines  be  grown  to  maturity. 

The  people  of  property  are  very  careful  of  their 
limber  ;  and,  rambling  through  a  forest  near  Tousberg, 
belonging  to  the  Count,  I  have  stopped  to  admire  the 
appearance  of  some  of  the  cottages  inhabited  by  a 
woodman's  family — a  man  employed  to  cut  down  the 
wood  necessary  for  the  household  and  the  estate.  A 
little  lawn  was  cleared,  on  which  several  lofty  trees 


126  LETTERS   ON    SWEDEN, 

were  left  which  nature  had  grouped,  whilst  the  en- 
circliug  firs  sported  with  wild  grace.  The  dwelling  was 
sheltered  by  the  forest,  noble  pines  spreading  their 
branches  over  the  roof ;  and  before  the  door  a  cow, 
goat,  nag,  and  children,  seemed  equally  content  with 
their  lot ;  and  if  contentment  be  all  we  can  attain,  it 
is,  perhaps,  best  secured  by  ignorance. 

As  I  have  been  most  delighted  with  the  country 
parts  of  Norway,  I  was  sorry  to  leave  Christiania  with- 
out going  farther  to  the  north,  though  the  advancing 
season  admonished  me  to  depart,  as  well  as  the  calls  of 
business  and  affection. 

June  and  July  are  the  months  to  make  a  tour 
through  Norway;  for  then  the  evenings  and  nights 
are  the  finest  I  have  ever  seen  ;  but  towards  the  middle 
or  latter  end  of  August  the  clouds  begin  to  gather, 
and  summer  disappears  almost  before  it  has  ripened 
the  fruit  of  autumn — even,  as  it  were,  slips  from  your 
embraces,  whilst  the  satisfied  senses  seem  to  rest  in 
enjoyment. 

You  will  ask,  perhaps,  why  I  wished  to  go  farther 
northward.  Why  ?  not  only  because  the  country,  from 
all  I  can  gather,  is  most  romantic,  abounding  in 
forests  and  lakes,  and  the  air  pure,  but  I  have  heard 
much  of  the  intelligence  of  the  inhabitants,  sub- 
stantial farmers,  who  have  none  of  that  cunning  to 
contaminate  their  simplicity,  which  displeased  me  so 
much  in  the  conduct  of  the  people  on  the  sea  coast. 
A  man  who  has  been  detected  in  any  dishonest  act 
can  no  longer  live  among  them.  He  is  universally 
.shunned,  and  shame  becomes  the  severest  punishment. 


NOliWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  1.27 

Such  ;i  contempt  have  they,  in  fact,  for  every  species 
of  fraud,  that  they  will  not  allow  the  people  on 
the  western  coast  to  be  their  countrymen ;  so  much  do 
they  despise  the  arts  for  which  those  traders  who  live 
on  the  rocks  are  notorious. 

The  description  I  received  of  them  carried  me  back 
to  the  fables  of  the  golden  age:  independence  and 
virtue ;  affluence  without  vice ;  cultivation  of  mind, 
without  depravity  of  heart ;  with  "  ever  smiling 
Liberty ;  "  the  nymph  of  the  mountain.  I  want  faith  ! 
My  imagination  hurries  me  forward  to  seek  an  asylum 
in  such  a  retreat  from  all  the  disappointments  I  am 
threatened  with ;  but  reason  drags  me  back,  whisper- 
ing that  the  world  is  still  the  world,  and  man  the 
same  compound  of  weakness  and  folly,  who  must 
occasionally  excite  love  and  disgust,  admiration  and 
contempt.  But  this  description,  though  it  seems 
to  have  been  sketched  by  a  fairy  pencil,  was  given  me 
by  a  man  of  sound  understanding,  whose  fancy  seldom 
appears  to  run  away  with  him. 

A  law  in  Norway,  termed  the  odels  right,  has  lately 
been  modified,  and  probably  will  be  abolished  as  an 
impediment  to  commerce.  The  heir  of  an  estate  had  the 
power  of  re-purchasing  it  at  the  original  purchase 
money,  making  allowance  for  such  improvements  as 
were  absolutely  necessary,  during  the  space  of  twenty 
years.  At  present  ten  is  the  term  allowed  for  after- 
thought ;  and  when  the  regulation  was  made,  all  the 
men  of  abilities  were  invited  to  give  their  opinion 
whether  it  were  better  to  abrogate  or  modify  it.  It  is 
certainly  a  convenient  and  safe  way  of  mortgaging 


128  LETTERS    ON   SWEDEN, 

land;  yet  the  most  rational  men  whom  I  conversed 
with  on  the  subject  seemed  convinced  that  the  right, 
was  more  injurious  than  beneficial  to  society ;  still  if 
it  contribute  to  keep  the  farms  in  the  farmers'  own 
hands,  I  should  be  sorry  to  hear  that  it  were  abolished. 

The  aristocracy  in  Norway,  if  we  keep  clear  of 
Christiania,  is  far  from  being  formidable  ;  and  it  will 
require  a  long  time  to  enable  the  merchants  to  attain 
a  sufficient  moneyed  interest  to  induce  them  to  rein- 
force the  upper  class  at  the  expense  of  the  yeomanry, 
with  whom  they  are  usually  connected. 

England  and  America  owe  their  liberty  to  commerce, 
which  created  new  species  of  power  to  undermine  the 
feudal  system.  But  let  them  beware  of  the  conse- 
quence; the  tyranny  of  wealth  is  still  more  galling 
and  debasing  than  that  of  rank. 

Farewell !  I  must  prepare  for  my  departure. 


LETTER    XV. 

I  LEFT  Christiania  yesterday.  The  weather  was  not 
very  fine,  and  having  been  a  little  delayed  on  the  road, 
I  found  that  it  was  too  late  to  go  round,  a  couple  of 
miles,  to  see  the  cascade  near  Fredericstadt,  which  I 
had  determined  to  visit.  Besides,  as  Fredericstadt  is  a 
fortress,  it  was  necessary  to  arrive  there  before  they 
shut  the  gate. 

The  road  along  the  river  is  very  romantic,  though 
the  views  are  not  grand;  and  the  riches  of  Norway, 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  129 

its  timber,  floats  silently  down  the  stream,  often  im- 
peded in  its  course  by  islands  and  little  cataracts,  the 
offspring,  as  it  were,  of  the  great  one  I  had  frequently 
heard  described. 

I  found  an  excellent  inn  at  Fredericstadt,  and  was 
gratified  by  the  kind  attention  of  the  hostess,  who, 
perceiving  that  my  clothes  were  wet,  took  great  pains 
to  procure  me,  as  a  stranger,  every  comfort  for  the 
night. 

It  had  rained  very  hard,  and  we  passed  the  ferry  in 
the  dark  without  getting  out  of  our  carriage,  which  I 
think  wrong,  as  the  horses  are  somct  m^s  unruly. 
Fatigue  and  melancholy,  however,  had  mado  me  re- 
gardless whether  I  went  down  or  across  the  stream, 
and  I  did  not  know  that  I  was  wet  before  the  hostess 
remarked  it.  My  imagination  has  never  yet  severed 
me  from  my  griefs,  and  my  mind  has  seldom  been  so 
free  as  to  allow  my  body  to  be  delicate. 

How  I  am  altered  by  disappointment !  When  going 
to  Lisbon,  the  elasticity  of  my  mind  was  sufficient  to 
ward  off  weariness,  and  my  imagination  still  could  dip 
her  brush  in  the  rainbow  of  fancy,  and  sketch  futurity 
in  glowing  colours.  Now — but  let  me  talk  of  some- 
thing else — will  you  go  with  me  to  the  cascade  ? 

The  cross  road  to  it  was  rugged  and  dreary  ;  and 
though  a  considerable  extent  of  land  was  cultivated  on 
all  sides,  yet  the  rocks  were  entirely  bare,  which  sur- 
prised me,  as  they  were  more  on  a  level  with  the 
surface  than  any  I  had  yet  seen.  On  inquiry,  how- 
ever, I  learnt  that  some  years  since  a  forest  had  been 
burnt.  This  appearance  of  desolation  was  beyond 
E— 188 


130  LETTERS   ON    SWEDEN, 

measure  gloomy,  inspiring  emotions  that  sterility  had 
never  produced.  Fires  of  this  kind  are  occasioned  by 
the  wind  suddenly  rising  when  the  farmers  are  burning 
roots  of  trees,  stalks  of  beans,  &c.,  with  which  they 
manure  the  ground.  The  devastation  must,  indeed,  be 
terrible,  when  this,  literally  speaking,  wildfire,  runs 
along  the  forest,  flying  from  top  to  top,  and  crackling 
amongst  the  branches.  The  soil,  as  well  as  the  trees, 
is  swept  away  by  the  destructive  torrent ;  and  the 
country,  despoiled  of  beauty  and  riches,  is  left  to 
mourn  for  ages. 

Admiring,  as  I  do,  these  noble  forests,  which  seem  to 
bid  defiance  to  time,  I  looked  with  pain  on  the  ridge 
of  rocks  that  stretched  far  beyond  my  eye,  formerly 
crowned  with  the  most  beautiful  verdure. 

I  have  often  mentioned  the  grandeur,  but  I  feel 
myself  unequal  to  the  task  of  conveying  an  idea  of  the 
beauty  and  elegance  of  the  scene  when  the  spiry  tops  of 
the  pines  are  loaded  with  ripening  seed,  and  the  sun 
gives  a  glow  to  their  light- green  tinge,  which  is 
changing  into  purple,  one  tree  more  or  less  advanced 
contrasted  with  another.  The  profusion  with  which 
Nature  has  decked  them  with  pendant  honours,  pre- 
vents all  surprise  at  seeing  in  every  crevice  some 
sapling  struggling  for  existence.  Yast  masses  of  stone 
are  thus  encircled,  and  roots  torn  up  by  the  storms 
become  a  shelter  for  a  young  generation.  The  pine 
and  fir  woods,  left  entirely  to  Nature,  display  an  endless 
variety ;  and  the  paths  in  the  woods  are  not  entangled 
with  fallen  leaves,  which  are  only  interesting  whilst 
they  are  flattering  between  life  and  death.  The  grey 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  131 

cobweb-like  appearance  of  tlie  aged  pines  is  a  much 
finer  image  of  decay ;  the  fibres  whitening  as  they  lose 
their  moisture,  imprisoned  life  seems  to  be  stealing 
away.  I  cannot  tell  why,  but  death,  under  every  form, 
appears  to  me  like  something  getting  free — to  expand 
in  I  know  not  what  element — nay,  I  feel  that  this 
conscious  being  must  be  as  unfettered,  have  the  wings 
of  thought,  before  it  can  be  happy. 

Beaching  the  cascade,  or  rather  cataract,  the  roaring 
of  which  had  a  long  time  announced  its  vicinity,  my 
soul  was  hurried  by  the  falls  into  a  new  train  of  re- 
flections. The  impetuous  dashing  of  the  rebounding 
torrent  from  the  dark  cavities  which  mocked  the  ex- 
ploring  eye  produced  an  equal  activity  in  my  mind. 
My  thoughts  darted  from  earth  to  heaven,  and  I  asked 
myself  why  I  was  chained  to  life  and  its  misery.  Still 
the  tumultuous  emotions  this  sublime  object  excited 
were  pleasurable ;  and,  viewing  it,  my  soul  rose  with 
renewed  dignity  above  its  cares.  Grasping  at  im- 
mortality— it  seemed  as  impossible  to  stop  the  current 
of  my  thoughts,  as  of  the  always  varying,  still  the 
same,  torrent  before  me;  I  stretched  out  my  hand 
to  eternity,  bounding  over  the  dark  speck  of  life  to 
come. 

We  turned  with  regret  from  the  cascade.  On  a 
little  hill,  which  commands  the  best  view  of  it,  several 
obelisks  are  erected  to  commemorate  the  visits  of  dif- 
ferent kings.  The  appearance  of  the  river  above  and 
below  the  falls  is  very  picturesque,  the  ruggedness  of 
the  scenery  disappearing  as  the  torrent  subsides  into  a 
peaceful  stream.  But  I  did  not  like  to  see  a  number 


132  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

of  saw-mills  crowded  together  close  to  the  cataracts ; 
they  destroyed  the  harmony  of  the  prospect. 

The  sight  of  a  bridge  erected  across  a  deep  valley, 
at  a  little  distance,  inspired  very  dissimilar  sensations. 
It  was  most  ingeniously  supported  by  mast-like  trunks, 
just  stripped  of  their  branches ;  and  logs,  placed  one 
across  the  other,  produced  an  appearance  equally  light 
and  firm,  seeming  almost  to  be  built  in  the  air  when 
we  were  below  it,  the  height  taking  from  the  magni- 
tude of  the  supporting  trees  give  them  a  slender 
graceful  look. 

There  are  two  noble  estates  in  this  neighbourhood, 
the  proprietors  of  which  seem  to  have  caught  more 
than  their  portion  of  the  enterprising  spirit  that  is 
gone  abroad.  Many  agricultural  experiments  have 
been  made,  and  the  country  appears  better  enclosed 
and  cultivated,  yet  the  cottages  had  not  the  comfort- 
able aspect  of  those  I  had  observed  near  Moss  and  to 
the  westward.  Man  is  always  debased  by  servitude  of 
any  description,  and  here  the  peasantry  are  not  entirely 
free.  Adieu ! 

I  almost  forgot  to  tell  you  that  I  did  not  leave 
Norway  without  making  some  inquiries  after  the 
monsters  said  to  have  been  seen  in  the  northern  sea ; 
but  though  I  conversed  with  several  captains,  I  could 
not  meet  with  one  who  had  ever  heard  any  traditional 
description  of  them,  much  less  had  any  ocular  demon- 
stration of  their  existence.  Till  the  fact  is  better 
ascertained,  I  should  think  the  account  of  them  ought 
to  be  torn  out  of  our  geographical  grammars. 


NORWAY,  AND  DENMARK.          133 


LETTEH  XVI. 

I  SET  out  from  Frederics! adt  about  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  and  expected  to  reach  Stromstad  before 
the  night  closed  in;  but  the  wind  dying  away,  the 
weather  became  so  calm  that  we  scarcely  made  any 
perceptible  advances  towards  the  opposite  coast,  though 
the  men  were  fatigued  with  rowing. 

Getting  amongst  the  rocks  and  islands  as  the  moon 
rose,  and  the  stars  darted  forward  out  of  the  clear 
expanse,  I  forgot  that  the  night  stole  on  whilst  indulg- 
ing affectionate  reveries,  the  poetical  fictions  of  sen- 
sibility ;  I  was  not,  therefore,  aware  of  the  length  of 
time  we  had  been  toiling  to  reach  Stromstad.  And 
when  I  began  to  look  around,  I  did  not  perceive  any- 
thing to  indicate  that  we  were  in  its  neighbourhood. 
So  far  from  it,  that  when  I  inquired  of  the  pilot,  who 
spoke  a  little  English,  I  found  that'  he  was  only  accus- 
tomed to  coast  along  the  Norwegian  shore;  and  had 
been  only  once  across  to  Stromstad.  But  he  had 
brought  with  him  a  fellow  better  acquainted,  he  as- 
sured me,  with  the  rocks  by  which  they  were  to  steer 
our  course,  for  we  had  not  a  compass  on  board ;  yet,  as 
he  was  half  a  fool,  1  had  little  confidence  in  his  skill. 
There  was  then  great  reason  to  fear  that  we  had  lost 
our  way,  and  were  straying  amidst  a  labyrinth  of  rocks 
without  a  clue. 

This  was  something  like  an  adventure,  but  not  of  the 
most  agreeable  cast ;  besides,  I  was  impatient  to  arrive 
at  Stromstad,  to  be  able  to  send  forward  that  night  a 


134  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

boy  to  order  horses  on  the  road  to  be  ready,  for  I  was 
unwilling  to  remain  there  a  day  without  having  any- 
thing to  detain  me  from  my  little  girl,  and  from  the 
letters  which  I  was  impatient  to  get  from  you. 

I  began  to  expostulate,  and  even  to  scold  the  pilot, 
for  not  having  informed  me  of  his  ignorance  previous 
to  my  departure.  This  made  him  row  with  more  force, 
and  we  turned  round  one  rock  only  to  see  another, 
equally  destitute  of  the  tokens  we  were  in  search  of  to 
tell  us  where  we  were.  Entering  also  into  creek  after 
creek  which  promised  to  be  the  entrance  of  the  bay  we 
were  seeking,  we  advanced  merely  to  find  ourselves 
running  aground. 

The  solitariness  of  the  scene,  as  we  glided  under  the 
dark  shadows  of  the  rocks,  pleased  me  for  a  while  ;  but 
the  fear  of  passing  the  whole  night  thus  wandering  to 
and  fro,  and  losing  the  next  day,  roused  me.  I  begged 
the  pilot  to  return  to  one  of  the  largest  islands,  at  the 
side  of  which  we  had  seen  a  boat  moored.  As  we  drew 
nearer,  a  light  through  a  window  on  the  summit  be- 
came our  beacon  ;  but  we  were  farther  off  than  I  sup- 
posed. 

With  some  difficulty  the  pilot  got  on  shore,  not  dis- 
tinguishing the  landing-place  ;  and  I  remained  in  the 
boat,  knowing  that  all  the  relief  we  could  expect  was 
a  man  to  direct  us.  After  waiting  some  time,  for 
there  is  an  insensibility  in  the  very  movements  of  these 
people  that  would  weary  more  than  ordinary  patience, 
he  brought  with  him  a  man  who,  assisting  them  to  row, 
we  landed  at  Strouistad  a  little  after  one  in  the 
morning. 


NORWAY.   AND    DENMARK.  135 

It  was  too  late  to  send  off  a  boy,  but  I  did  not  go  to 
bed  before  I  had  made  the  arrangements  necessary  to 
enable  me  to  set  out  as  early  as  possible. 

The  sun  rose  with  splendour.  My  mind  was  too 
active  to  allow  me  to  loiter  long  in  bed,  though  the 
horses  did  not  arrive  till  between  seven  and  eight. 
However,  as  I  wished  to  let  the  boy,  who  went  forward 
to  order  the  horses,  get  considerably  the  start  of  me,  I 
bridled  in  my  impatience. 

This  precaution  was  unavailing,  for  after  the  three 
first  posts  I  had  to  wait  two  hours,  whilst  the  people 
at  the  post-house  went,  fair  and  softly,  to  the  farm,  to 
bid  them  bring  up  the  horses  which  were  carrying  in 
the  first-fruits  of  the  harvest.  I  discovered  here  that 
these  sluggish  peasants  had  their  share  of  cunning. 
Though  they  had  made  me  pay  for  a  horse,  the  boy 
had  gone  on  foot,  and  only  arrived  half  an  hour  before 
me.  This  disconcerted  the  whole  arrangement  of  the 
day;  and  being  detained  again  three  hours,  I  reluc- 
tantly determined  to  sleep  at  Quistram,  two  posts  short 
of  Uddervalla,  where  I  had  hoped  to  have  arrived  that 
night. 

But  when  I  reached  Quistram  I  found  I  could  not 
approach  the  door  of  the  inn  for  men,  horses,  and  carts, 
cows,  and  pigs  huddled  together.  From  the  concourse 
of  people  I  had  met  on  the  road  I  conjectured  that 
there  was  a  fair  in  the  neighbourhood ;  this  crowd  con- 
vinced me  that  it  was  but  too  true.  The  boisterous 
merriment  that  almost  every  instant  produced  a  quarrel, 
or  made  me  dread  one,  with  the  clouds  of  tobacco,  and 
fumos  of  brandy,  gave  an  infernal  appearance  to  tho 


133  LETTERS    OX    SWEDEN, 

scene.  There  was  everything  to  drive  me  back,  nothing 
to  excite  sympathy  in  a  rude  tumult,  of  the  senses, 
which  I  foresaw  would  end  in  a  gross  debauch.  What 
was  to  be  done?  No  bed  was  to  be  had,  or  even  a 
quiet  corner  to  retire  to  for  a  moment ;  all  was  lost  in 
noise,  riot,  and  confusion. 

After  some  debating  they  promised  me  horses,  which 
were  to  go  on  to  Uddervalla,  two  stages.  I  requested 
something  to  eat  first,  not  having  dined ;  and  the 
hostess,  whom  I  have  mentioned  to  you  before  as 
knowing  how  to  take  care  of  herself,  brought  me  a 
plate  of  fish,  for  which  she  charged  a  rix- dollar  and 
a  half.  This  was  making  hay  whilst  the  sun  shone. 
I  was  glad  to  get  out  of  the  uproar,  though  not  dis- 
posed to  travel  in  an  incommodious  open  carriage  all 
night,  had  I  thought  that  there  was  any  chance  of 
getting  horses. 

Quitting  Quistram  I  met  a  number  of  joyous  groups, 
and  though  the  evening  was  fresh  many  were  stretched 
on  the  grass  like  weary  cattle ;  and  drunken  men  had 
fallen  by  the  road- side.  On  a  rock,  under  the  shade  of 
lofty  trees,  a  large  party  of  men  and  women  had  lighted 
a  fire,  cutting  down  fuel  around  to  keep  it  alive  all 
night.  They  were  drinking,  smoking,  and  laughing 
with  all  their  might  and  main.  I  felt  for  the  trees 
whose  torn  branches  strewed  the  ground.  Hapless 
nymphs !  your  haunts,  I  fear,  were  polluted  by  many 
an  unhallowed  flame,  the  casual  burst  of  the  moment ! 

The  horses  went  on  very  well ;  but  when  we  drew 
near  the  post-house  the  postillion  stopped  short,  and 
neither  threats  nor  promises  could  prevail  on  him  to 


NORWAY,    AND   DEN  MA  US.  137 

go  forward.  He  even  began  to  howl  and  weep  when 
I  insisted  on  his  keeping  his  word.  Nothing,  indeed, 
can  equal  the  stupid  obstinacy  of  some  of  these  half- 
alive  beings,  who  seem  to  have  been  made  by  Pro- 
metheus when  the  fire  he  stole  from  Heaven  was  so 
exhausted  that  he  could  only  spare  a  spark  to  give  life, 
not  animation,  to  the  inert  clay. 

It  was  some  time  before  we  could  rouse  anybody ; 
nud,  as  I  expected,  horses,  we  were  told,  could  not  be 
had  in  less  than  four  or  five  hours.  I  again  attempted 
to  bribe  the  churlish  brute  who  brought  us  there,  but 
I  discovered  that,  in  spite  of  the  courteous  hostess's 
promises,  he  had  received  orders  not  to  go  any 
farther. 

As  there  was  no  remedy  I  entered,  and  was  almost 
driven  back  by  the  stench — a  softer  phrase  would  not 
have  conveyed  an  idea  of  the  hot  vapour  that  issued 
from  an  apartment  in  which  some  eight  or  ten  people 
were  sleeping,  not  to  reckon  the  cats  and  dogs  stretched 
on  the  floor.  Two  or  three  of  the  men  or  women  were 
lying  on  the  benches,  others  on  old  chests ;  and  one 
figure  started  half  out  of  a  trunk  to  look  at  me,  whom 
I  might  have  taken  for  a  ghost,  had  the  chemise  been 
white,  to  contrast  with  the  sallow  visage.  But  the 
costume  of  apparitions  not  being  preserved  I  passed, 
nothing  dreading,  excepting  the  effluvia,  warily  amongst 
the  pots,  pans,  milk-pails,  and  washing-tubs.  After 
scaling  a  ruinous  staircase  I  was  shown  a  bed-chamber. 
The  bed  did  not  invite  me  to  enter ;  opening,  therefore, 
the  window,  and  taking  some  clean  towels  out  of  my 
night-sack,  I  spread  them  over  the  coverlid,  on  which 


138  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

tired  Nature  found  repose,  in  spite  of  the  previous 
disgust. 

With  the  grey  of  the  morn  the  birds  awoke  me ;  and 
descending  to  inquire  for  the  horses,  I  hastened  through 
the  apartment  I  have  already  described,  not  wishing  to 
associate  the  idea  of  a  pigstye  with  that  of  a  human 
dwelling. 

I  do  not  now  wonder  that  the  girls  lose  their  fine 
complexions  at  such  an  early  age,  or  that  love  here  is 
merely  an  appetite  to  fulfil  the  main  design  of 
Nature,  never  enlivened  by  either  affection  or  senti- 
ment. 

For  a  few  posts  we  found  the  horses  waiting ;  but 
afterwards  I  was  retarded,  as  before,  by  the  peasants, 
who,  taking  advantage  of  my  ignorance  of  the  lan- 
guage, made  me  pay  for  the  fourth  horse  that  ought 
to  have  gone  forward  to  have  the  others  in  readiness, 
though  it  had  never  been  sent.  I  was  particularly  im- 
patient at  the  last  post,  as  I  longed  to  assure  myself 
that  my  child  was  well. 

My  impatience,  however,  did  not  prevent  my  enjoy- 
ing the  journey.  I  had  six  weeks  before  passed  over 
the  same  ground ;  still  it  had  sufficient  novelty  to 
attract  my  attention,  and  beguile,  if  not  banish,  the 
sorrow  that  had  taken  up  its  abode  in  my  heart.  How 
interesting  are  the  varied  beauties  of  Nature,  and  what 
peculiar  charms  characterise  each  season !  The  purple 
hue  which  the  heath  now  assumed  gave  it  a  degree  of 
richness  that  almost  exceeded  the  lustre  of  the  young 
green  of  spring,  and  harmonised  exquisitely  with  the 
rays  of  the  ripening  corn.  The  weather  was  iminter- 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  139 

ruptedly  fine,  and  the  people  busy  in  the  fields  cutting 
down  the  corn,  or  binding  up  the  sheaves,  continually 
varied  the  prospect.  The  rocks,  it  is  true,  were 
unusually  rugged  and  dreary ;  yet  as  the  road  runs 
for  a  considerable  way  by  the  side  of  a  fine  river,  with 
extended  pastures  on  the  other  side,  the  image  of 
sterility  was  not  the  predominant  object,  though  the 
cottages  looked  still  more  miserable,  after  having  seen 
the  Norwegian  farms.  The  trees  likewise  appeared  of 
the  growth  of  yesterday,  compared  with  those  Nestors 
of  the  forest  I  have  frequently  mentioned ..  -  The  women 
and  children  were  cutting  off  branches  from  the  beech, 
birch,  oak,  &c.,  and  leaving  them  to  dry.  This  way  of 
helping  out  their  fodder  injures  the  trees.  But  the 
winters  are  so  long  that  the  poor  cannot  afford  to  lay 
in  a  sufficient  stock  of  hay.  By  such  means  they  just 
keep  life  in  the  poor  cows,  for  little  milk  can  be  ex- 
pected when  they  are  so  miserably  fed. 

It  was  Saturday,  and  the  evening  was  uncommonly 
serene.  In  the  villages  I  everywhere  saw  preparations 
for  Sunday ;  and  I  passed  by  a  little  car  loaded  with 
rye,  that  presented,  for  the  pencil  and  heart,  the 
sweetest  picture  of  a  harvest  home  I  had  ever  beheld. 
A  little  girl  was  mounted  a- straddle  on  a  shaggy  horse, 
brandishing  a  stick  over  its  head  ;  the  father  was 
walking  at  the  side  of  the  car  with  a  child  in  his  arms, 
who  must  have  come  to  meet  him  with  tottering  steps ; 
the  little  creature  was  stretching  out  its  arms  to  cling 
round  his  neck ;  and  a  boy,  just  above  petticoats,  was 
labouring  hard  with  a  fork  behind  to  keep  the  sheaves 
from  falling. 


110  LETTE33   ON   SWEDEN, 

My  eyes  £ ollovred  them  to  the  cottage,  and  an  in- 
voluniary  sigh  whispered  to  my  heart  that  I  envied 
the  mother,  much  as  I  dislike  cooking,  who  was  pre- 
paring their  pottage.  I  was  returning  to  my  babe,  who 
may  never  experience  a  father's  care  or  tenderness. 
The  lo  join  that  nurtured  her  heaved  with  a  pang  at 
the  thought  which  only  an  unhappy  mother  could  feel. 

Adieu ! 


LETTER   XVII. 

I  WAS  unwilling  to  leave  Gothenburg  without  visiting 
Trolh'dettse.  I  wished  not  only  to  see  the  cascade,  but 
to  observe  the  progress  of  the  stupendous  attempt  to 
form  a  canal  through  the  rocks,  to  the  extent  of  an 
English  mile  and  a  half. 

This  work  is  carried  on  by  a  company,  who  employ 
daily  nine  hundred  men ;  five  years  was  the  time  men- 
tioned in  the  proposals  addressed  to  the  public  as 
necessary  for  the  completion.  A  much  more  consider- 
able sum  than  the  plan  requires  has  been  subscribed, 
for  which  there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  the  pro- 
moters Avill  receive  ample  interest. 

The  Danes  survey  the  progress  of  this  work  with  a 
jealous  eye,  as  it  is  principally  undertaken  to  get  clear 
of  the  Sound  duty. 

Arrived  at  Trolhasttse,  I  must  own  that  the  first  view 
of  the  cascade  disappointed  me ;  and  the  sight  of  the 
works,  as  they  advanced,  though  a  grand  proof  of 
human  industry,  was  not  calculated  to  warm  the  fancy, 


NORWAY,  AND  DENMARK.  141 

I,  however,  wandered  about ;  and  at  last  coining  to 
the  conflux  of  the  various  cataracts  rushing  from 
different  falls,  struggling  with  the  huge  masses  of 
rock,  and  rebounding  from  the  profound  cavities,  I 
immediately  retracted,  acknowledging  that  it  was 
indeed  a  grand  object.  A  little  island  stood  in  the 
midst,  covered  with  firs,  which,  by  dividing  the  torrent, 
rendered  it  more  picturesque;  one  half  appearing  to 
issue  from  a  dark  cavern,  that  fancy  might  easily 
imagine  a  vast  fountain  throwing  up  its  waters  from 
the  very  centre  of  the  earth. 

I  gazed  I  know  not  how  long,  stunned  with  the  noise, 
and  growing  giddy  with  only  looking  at  the  never- 
ceasing  tumultuous  motion,  I  listened,  scarcely  con- 
scious where  I  was,  when  I  observed  a  boy,  half 
obscured  by  the  sparkling  foam,  fishing  under  the  im- 
pending rock  on  the  other  side.  How  he  had  descended 
I  could  not  perceive ;  nothing  like  human  footsteps 
appeared,  and  the  horrific  crags  seemed  to  bid  defiance 
even  to  the  goat's  activity.  It  looked  like  an  abode 
only  fit  for  the  eagle,  though  in  its  crevices  some  pines 
darted  up  their  spiral  heads  ;  but  they  only  grew  near 
the  cascade,  everywhere  else  sterility  itself  reigned  with 
dreary  grandeur;  for  the  huge  grey  massy  rocks,  which 
probably  had  been  torn  asunder  by  some  dreadful  con- 
vulsion of  nature,  had  not  even  their  first  covering  of 
a  little  cleaving  moss.  There  were  so  many  appear- 
ances to  excite  the  idea  of  chaos,  that,  instead  of  admir- 
ing the  canal  and  the  works,  great  as  they  are  termed, 
and  little  as  they  appear,  I  could  not  help  regretting 
that  such  a  noble  scene  had  not  been  left  in  all  its 


142  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN. 

solitary  sublimity.  Amidst  the  awful  roaring  of  the 
impetuous  torrents,  the  noise  of  human  instruments 
and  the  bustle  of  workmen,  even  the  blowing  up  of  the 
rocks,  when  grand  masses  trembled  in  the  darkened 
air,  only  resembled  the  insignificant  sport  of  child- 
ren. 

One  fall  of  water,  partly  made  by  art,  when  they 
were  attempting  to  construct  sluices,  had  an  un- 
commonly grand  effect :  the  water  precipitated  itself 
with  immense  velocity  down  a  perpendicular,  at  least 
fifty  or  sixty  yards,  into  a  gulf,  so  concealed  by  the 
foam  as  to  give  full  play  to  the  fancy.  There  was  a 
continual  uproar.  I  stood  on  a  rock  to  observe  it,  a 
kind  of  bridge  formed  by  nature,  nearly  on  a  level  with 
the  commencement  of  the  fall.  After  musing  by  it  a 
long  time  I  turned  towards  the  other  side,  and  saw  a 
gentle  stream  stray  calmly  out.  I  should  have  con- 
cluded that  it  had  no  communication  with  the  torrent 
had  I  not  seen  a  huge  log  that  fell  headlong  down  the 
cascade  steal  peacefully  into  the  purling  stream. 

I  retired  from  these  wild  scenes  with  regret  to  a 
miserable  inn,  and  next  morning  returned  to  Gothen- 
burg, to  prepare  for  my  journey  to  Copenhagen. 

I  was  sorry  to  leave  Gothenburg  without  travelling 
farther  into  Sweden,  yet  I  imagine  I  should  only  have 
seen  a  romantic  country  thinly  inhabited,  and  these 
inhabitants  struggling  with  poverty.  The  Norwegian 
peasantry,  mostly  independent,  have  a  rough  kind  of 
frankness  in  their  manner  ;  but  the  Swedish,  rendered 
more  abject  by  misery,  have  a  degree  of  politeness  in 
their  address  which,  though  it  may  sometimes  border 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  143 

on  insincerity,  is  oi'tener  the  effect  of  a  broken  spirit, 
rather  softened  than  degraded  by  wretchedness. 

In  Norway  there  are  no  notes  in  circulation  of  less 
value  than  a  Swedisli  rix-dollar.  A  small  silver  coin, 
commonly  not  worth  more  than  a  penny,  and  never 
more  than  twopence,  serves  for  change  ;  but  in  Sweden 
they  have  notes  as  low  as,  sixpence.  I  never  saw  any 
silver  pieces  there,  and  could  not  without  difficulty, 
and  giving  a  premium,  obtain  the  value  of  a  rix-dollar 
in  a  large  copper  coin  to  give  away  on  the  road  to  the 
poor  who  open  the  gates. 

As  another  proof  of  the  poverty  of  Sweden,  I  ought 
to  mention  that  foreign  merchants  who  have  acquired 
a  fortune  there  are  obliged  to  deposit  the  sixth  part 
when  they  leave  the  kingdom.  This  law,  you  may 
suppose,  is  frequently  evaded. 

In  fact,  the  laws  here,  as  well  as  in  Norway,  are  so 
relaxed  that  they  rather  favour  than  restrain  knavery. 

Whilst  I  was  at  Gothenburg,  a  man  who  had  been 
confined  for  breaking  open  his  master's  desk  and  run- 
ning away  with  five  or  six  thousand  rix-dollars,  was 
only  sentenced  to  forty  days'  confinement  on  bread  and 
water ;  and  this  slight  punishment  his  relations  rendered 
nugatory  by  supplying  him  with  more  savoury  food. 

The  Swedes  are  in  general  attached  to  their  families, 
yet  a  divorce  may  be  obtained  by  either  party  on  prov- 
ing the  infidelity  of  the  other  or  acknowledging  it 
themselves.  The  women  do  not  often  recur  to  this 
equal  privilege,  for  they  either  retaliate  on  their  hus- 
bands by  following  their  own  devices  or  sink  into  the 
merest  domestic  drudges,  worn  down  by  tyranny  to 


141  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN. 

servile  submlssiou.  Do  iiot  term  me  severe  if  1  add, 
that  after  youth  is  flown  the  husband  becomes  a  sot, 
and  the  wife  amuses  herself  by  scolding  her  servants. 
In  fact,  what  is  to  be  expected  in  any  country  where 
taste  and  cultivation  of  mind  do  not  supply  the  place 
of  youthful  beauty  and  animal  spirits?  Affection  re- 
quires »  firmer  foundation  than  sympathy,  and  few 
people  have  a  principle  of  action  sufficiently  stable  to 
produce  rectitude  of  feeling;  for  in  spite  of  all  the 
arguments  I  have  heard  to  justify  deviations  from 
duty,  I  am  persuaded  that  even  the  most  spontaneous 
sensations  are  more  under  the  direction  of  principle 
than  weak  people  are  willing  to  allow. 

But  adieu  to  moralising.  I  have  been  writing  these 
last  sheets  at  an  inn  in  Elsineur,  where  I  am  waiting 
for  horses  ;  and  as  they  are  not  yet  ready,  I  will  give 
you  a  short  account  of  my  journey  from  Gothenburg, 
for  I  set  out  the  morning  after  I  returned  from 
Trolhaetta. 

The  country  during  the  first  day's  journey  presented 
a  most  barren  appearance,  as  rocky,  yet  not  so  pictur- 
esque as  Norway,  because  on  a  diminutive  scale.  We 
stopped  to  sleep  at  a  tolerable  inn  in  Falckersberg,  a 
decent  little  town. 

The  next  day  beeches  and  oaks  began  to  grace  the 
prospects,  the  sea  every  now  and  then  appearing  to 
give  them  dignity.  I  could  not  avoid  observing  also, 
that  even  in  this  part  of  Sweden,  one  of  the  most 
sterile,  as  I  was  informed,  there  was  more  ground 
under  cultivation  than  in  Norway.  Plains  of  varied 
crops  stretched  out  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  sloped 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  145 

down  to  the  shore,  no  longer  terrific.  And,  as  far  as  I 
eonld  judge,  from  glancing  my  eye  over  the  country  as 
we  drove  along,  agriculture  was  in  a  more  advanced 
state,  though  in  the  habitations  a  greater  appearance  of 
poverty  still  remained.  The  cottages,  indeed,  often 
looked  most  uncomfortable,  but  never  so  miserable  as 
those  I  had  remarked  on  the  road  to  Stromstad,  and  the 
towns  were  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  many  of  the  little 
towns  in  Wales,  or  some  I  have  passed  through  in  my 
way  from  Calais  to  Paris. 

The  inns  as  we  advanced  were  not  to  be  complained 
of,  unless  I  had  always  thought  of  England.  The  people 
were  civil,  and  much  more  moderate  in  their  demands 
than  the  Norwegians,  particularly  to  the  westward, 
where  they  boldly  charge  for  what  you  never  had,  and 
seem  to  consider  you,  as  they  do  a  wreck,  if  not  as  law- 
ful prey,  yet  as  a  lucky  chance,  which  they  ought  not 
to  neglect  to  seize. 

The  prospect  of  Elsineur,  as  we  passed  the  Sound, 
was  pleasant.  I  gave  three  rix-dollars  for  my  boat, 
including  something  to  drink.  I  mention  the  sum, 
because  they  impose  on  strangers. 

Adieu  !  till  I  arrive  at  Copenhagen. 


]46  LETTERS    ON   SWEDEN, 


LETTER    XVIII. 

COPENHAGEN. 

THE  distance  from  Elsineur  to  Copenhcageii  is  twenty- 
two  miles ;  the  road  is  very  good,  over  a  flat  country 
diversified  with  wood,  mostly  beech,  and  decent  man- 
sions. There  appeared  to  be  a  great  quantity  of  corn 
land,  and  the  soil  looked  much  more  fertile  than  it  is 
in  general  so  near  the  sea.  The  rising  grounds,  indeed, 
were  very  few,  and  around  Copenhagen  it  is  a  perfect 
plain ;  of  course  has  nothing  to  recommend  it  but  cul- 
tivation, not  decorations.  If  I  say  that  the  houses  did 
not  disgust  me,  I  tell  you  all  I  remember  of  them,  for 
I  cannot  recollect  any  pleasurable  sensations  they  ex- 
cited, or  that  any  object,  produced  by  nature  or  art, 
took  me  out  of  myself.  The  view  of  the  city,  as  we 
drew  near,  was  rather  grand,  but  without  any  striking 
feature  to  interest  the  imagination,  excepting  the  trees 
which  shade  the  footpaths. 

Just  before  I  reached  Copenhagen  I  saw  a  number 
of  tents  on  a  wide  plain,  and  supposed  that  the  rage 
for  encampments  had  reached  this  city ;  but  I  soon  dis- 
covered that  they  were  the  asylum  of  many  of  the  poor 
families  who  had  been  driven  out  of  their  habitations 
by  the  late  fire. 

Entering  soon  after,  I  passed  amongst  the  dust  and 
rubbish  it  had  left,  affrighted  by  viewing  the  extent  of 
the  devastation,  for  at  least  a  quarter  of  the  city  had 
been  destroyed.  There  was  little  in  the  appearance  of 
fallen  bricks  and  stacks  of  chimneys  to  allure  the  imagi- 


NOEWAY,  AND  DENMARK.  147 

nation  into  soothing  melancholy  reveries ;  nothing  to 
attract  the  eye  of  taste,  but  much  to  afflict  the  benevo- 
lent heart.  The  depredations  of  time  have  always 
something  in  them  to  employ  the  fancy,  or  load  to 
musing  on  subjects  which,  withdrawing  the  mind  from 
objects  of  sense,  seem  to  give  it  new  dignity  ;  but  here 
T.  was  treading  on  live  ashes.  The  sufferers  were  still 
under  the  pressure  of  the  misery  occasioned  by  this 
dreadful  conflagration.  I  could  not  take  ref uf  o  in  the 
thought :  they  suffered,  but  they  are  no  more  !  a  re- 
flection I  frequently  summon  to  calm  my  mind  when 
sympathy  rises  to  anguish.  I  therefore  desired  the 
driver  to  hasten  to  the  hotel  recommended  to  me,  that 
I  might  avert  my  eyes  and  snap  the  train  of  thinking 
which  had  sent  me  into  all  the  corners  of  the  city  in 
search  of  houseless  heads. 

This  morning  I  have  been  walking  round  the  town, 
till  I  am  weary  of  observing  the  ravages.  I  had 
often  heard  the  Danes,  even  those  who  had  seen  Paris 
and  London,  speak  of  Copenhagen  with  rapture. 
Certainly  I  have  seen  it  in  a  very  disadvantageous 
light,  some  of  the  best  streets  having  been  burnt,  and 
the  whole  place  thrown  into  confusion.  Still  the 
utmost  that  can,  or  could  ever,  I  believe,  have  been 
said  in  its  praise,  might  be  comprised  in  a  few  words. 
The  streets  are  open,  and  many  of  the  houses  large  ; 
but  I  saw  nothing  to  rouse  the  idea  of  elegance  or 
grandeur,  if  I  except  the  circus  where  the  king  and 
prince  royal  reside. 

The  palace,  which  was  consumed  about  two  years 
ago,  must  have  been  a  handsome,  spacious  building ; 


148  LETTERS   ON    SWEDEN, 

the  stone-work  is  still  standing;,  and  a  groat  number  of 
the  poor,  during  the  late  fire,  took  refuge  in  its  ruins 
till  they  could  find  some  other  abode.  Beds  were 
thrown  on  the  landing-places  of  the  grand  staircase, 
where  whole  families  crept  from  the  cold,  and  every 
little  nook  is  boarded  up  as  a  retreat  for  some  poor 
creatures  deprived  of  their  home.  At  present  a  roof 
may  be  sufficient  to  shelter  them  from  the  night  air ; 
but  as  the  season  advances,  the  extent  of  the  calamity 
will  be  more  severely  felt,  I  fear,  though  the  exertions 
on  the  part  of  Government  are  very  considerable. 
Private  charity  has  also,  no  doubt,  done  much  to 
alleviate  the  misery  which  obtrudes  itself  at  every 
turn ;  still,  public  spirit  appears  to  me  to  be  hardly 
alive  here.  Had  it  existed,  the  conflagration  might 
have  been  smothered  in  the  beginning,  as  it  was  at 
last,  by  tearing  down  several  houses  before  the  flames 
had  reached  them.  To  this  the  inhabitants  would  not 
consent;  and  the  prince  royal  not  having  sufficient 
energy  of  character  to  know  when  he  ought  to  be 
absolute,  calmly  let  them  pursue  their  own  course,  till 
the  whole  city  seemed  to  be  threatened  with  destruc- 
tion. Adhering,  with  puerile  scrupulosity,  to  the  law 
which  he  has  imposed  on  himself,  of  acting  exactly 
right,  he  did  wrong  by  idly  lamenting  whilst  lie 
marked  the  progress  of  a  mischief  that  one  decided 
step  would  have  stopped.  He  was  afterwards  obliged 
to  resort  to  violent  measures ;  but  then,  who  could 
blame  him  ?  And,  to  avoid  censure,  what  sacrifices 
are  not  made  by  weak  minds  ? 

A  gentleman  who  was  a  witness  of  the  scene  assured 


NORWAY,  AND  DENMARK.  119 

mo,  likewise,  that  if  the  people  of  pnperty  had  taken 
half  as  much  paiiis  to  extinguish  the  fire  as  to  preserve 
their  valuables  and  furniture,  it  would  soon  have  been 
got  under.  But  they  who  were  not  immediately  in 
danger  did  not  exert  themselves  sufficiently,  till  fear, 
like  an  electrical  shock,  roused  all  the  inhabitants  to  a 
sense  of  the  general  evil.  Even  the  fire-engines  were 
o:it  of  order,  though  the  burning  of  the  palace  ought 
to  have  admonished  them  of  the  necessity  of  keeping 
them  in  constant  repair.  But  this  kind  of  indolence 
respecting  what  does  not  immediately  concern  them 
seems  to  characterise  the  Danes.  A  sluggish  concen- 
tration in  themselves  makes  them  so  careful  to  preserve 
their  property,  that  they  will  not  venture  on  any 
enterprise  to  increase  it  in  which  there  is  a  shadow  of 
hazard. 

Considering  Copenhagen  as  the  capital  of  Denmark 
and  Norway,  I  was  surprised  not  to  see  so  much 
industry  or  taste  as  in  Christiania.  Indeed,  from 
everything  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  observing,  the 
Danes  are  the  people  who  have  made  the  fewest 
sacrifices  to  the  grari  •-. 

The  men  of  business  are  domestic  tyrants,  coldly 
immersed  in  their  own  affairs,  and  so  ignorant  of  the 
state  of  other  countries,  that  they  dogmatically  assert 
that  Denmark  is  the  happiest  country  in  the  world ; 
the  Prince  Royal  the  best  of  all  possible  princes ;  and 
Count  Bernstorff  the  wisest  of  ministers. 

As  for  the  women,  they  are  simply  notable  house- 
wives ;  without  accomplishments  or  any  of  the  charms 
that  adorn  more  advanced  social  life.  This  total 


150  LETTERS    ON   SWEDEN, 

ignorance  may  enable  them  to  save  something  in  their 
kitchens,  but  it  is  far  from  rendering  them  better 
parents.  On  the  contrary,  the  children  are  spoiled,  as 
they  usually  are  when  left  to  the  care  of  weak,  indul- 
gent mothers,  who  having  no  principle  of  action  to 
regulate  their  feelings,  become  the  slaves  of  infants, 
enfeebling  both  body  and  mind  by  false  tenderness. 

I  am,  perhaps,  a  little  prejudiced,  as  I  write  from 
the  impression  of  the  moment ;  for  1  have  been 
tormented  to-day  by  the  presence  of  unruly  children, 
and  made  angry  by  some  invectives  thrown  out  against 
the  maternal  character  of  the  unfortunate  Matilda. 
She  was  censured,  with  the  most  cruel  insinuation, 
for  her  management  of  her  son,  though,  from  what 
I  could  gather,  she  gave  proofs  of  good  sense  as  well 
as  tenderness  in  her  attention  to  him.  She  used  to 
bathe  him  herself  every  morning ;  insisted  on  his  being 
loosely  clad ;  and  would  not  permit  his  attendants  to 
injure  his  digestion  by  humouring  his  appetite.  She 
was  equally  careful  to  prevent  his  acquiring  haughty 
airs,  and  playing  the  tyrant  in  leading-strings.  The 
Queen  Dowager  would  not  permit  her  to  suckle  him  ; 
but  the  next  child  being  a  daughter,  and  not  the  Heir. 
Apparent  of  the  Crown,  less  opposition  was  made  to  her 
discharging  the  duty  of  a  mother. 

Poor  Matilda  !  thou  hast  haunted  me  ever  since  my 
arrival ;  and  the  view  I  have  had  of  the  manners  of  the 
country,  exciting  my  sympathy,  has  increased  my 
respect  for  thy  memory. 

I  am  now  fully  convinced  that  she  was  the  victim  of 
the  party  she  displaced,  who  would  have  overlooked 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  151 

or  encouraged  her  attachment,  had  not  her  lover, 
aiming  at  being  useful,  attempted  to  overturn  some 
established  abuses  before  the  people,  ripe  for  the 
change,  had  sufficient  spirit  to  support  him  when 
struggling  in  their  behalf.  Such  indeed  was  the 
asperity  sharpened  against  her  that  I  have  heard  her, 
even  after  so  many  years  have  elapsed,  charged  with 
licentiousness,  not  only  for  endeavouring  to  render  the 
public  amusements  more  elegant,  but  for  her  very 
charities,  because  she  erected,  amongst  other  institu- 
tions, a  hospital  to  receive  foundlings.  Disgusted 
with  many  customs  which  pass  for  virtues,  though  they 
are  nothing  more  than  observances  of  forms,  often  at 
the  expense  of  truth,  she  probably  ran  into  an  error 
common  to  innovators,  in  wishing  to  do  immediately 
what  can  only  be  done  by  time. 

Many  very  cogent  reasons  have  been  urged  by  her 
friends  to  prove  that  her  affection  for  Strueusee  was 
never  carried  to  the  length  alleged  against  her  by  those 
who  feared  her  influence.  Be  that  as  it  may  she 
certainly  was  not  a  woman  of  gallantry,  and  if  she  had 
an  attachment  for  him  it  did  not  disgrace  her  heart 
or  understanding,  the  king  being  a  notorious  debauchee 
and  an  idiot  into  the  bargain,  As  the  king's  conduct 
had  always  been  directed  by  some  favourite,  they  also 
endeavoured  to  govern  him,  from  a  principle  of  self- 
preservation  as  well  as  a  laudable  ambition ;  but,  not 
aware  of  the  prejudices  they  had  to  encounter,  the 
system  they  adopted  displayed  more  benevolence  of 
heart  than  soundness  of  judgment.  As  to  the  charge, 
still  believed,  of  their  giving  the  King  drugs  to  injure 


152  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

his  faculties,  it  is  too  absurd  to  bo  refuted.  Their 
oppressors  had  better  have  accused  them  of  dabbling  in 
the  black  art,  for  the  potent  spell  still  keeps  his  wits 
in  bondage. 

I  cannot  describe  to  you  the  effect  it  had  on  me  to 
see  this  puppet  of  a  monarch  moved  by  the  strings 
which  Count  Bernstorft'  holds  fast ;  sit,  with  vacant 
eye,  erect,  receiving  the  homage  of  courtiers  who  mock 
him  with  a  show  of  respect.  He  is,  in  fact,  merely  a 
machine  of  state,  to  subscribe  the  name  of  a  king  to 
the  acts  of  the  Government,  which,  to  avoid  danger, 
have  no  value  unless  countersigned  by  the  Prince 
Royal ;  for  he  is  allowed  to  be  absolutely  an  idiot, 
excepting  that  now  and  then  an  observation  or  trick 
escapes  him,  which  looks  more  like  madness  than 
imbecility. 

What  a  farce  is  life.  This  effigy  of  majesty  is 
allowed  to  burn  down  to  the  socket,  whilst  the  hapless 
Matilda  was  hurried  into  an  untimely  grave. 

"As  flies  to  wanton  boys,  are  we  to  the  gods  ; 
They  kill  us  for  their  sport." 

Adieu  ! 


NORWAY,  AND  DENMARK.          153 


LETTER    XIX. 

BUSINESS  having  obliged  me  to  go  a  few  miles  out  of 
town  this  morning  I  \vas  surprised  at  meeting  a  crowd 
of  people  of  every  description,  and  inquiring  the  cause 
of  a  servant,  who  spoke  French,  I  was  informed  that  a 
man  had  been  executed  two  hours  before,  and  the  body 
afterwards  burnt.  I  could  not  help  looking  with 
horror  around — the  fields  lost  their  verdure — and  I 
turned  with  disgust  from  the  well-dressed  women  who 
were  returning  with  their  children  from  this  sight. 
What  a  spectacle  for  humanity!  The  seeing  such  a 
flock  of  idle  gazers  plunged  me  into  a  train  of  reflec- 
tions on  the  pernicious  effects  produced  by  false 
notions  of  justice.  And  I  am  persuaded  that  till 
capital  punishments  are  entirely  abolished  executions 
ought  to  have  every  appearance  of  horror  given  to 
them,  instead  of  being,  as  they  are  now,  a  scene  of 
amusement  for  the  gaping  crowd,  where  sympathy  is 
quickly  effaced  by  curiosity. 

I  have  always  been  of  opinion  that  the  allowing 
actors  to  die  in  the  presence  of  the  audience  has  an 
immoral  tendency,  but  trifling  when  compared  with 
the  ferocity  acquired  by  viewing  the  reality  as  a  show ; 
for  it  seems  to  me  that  in  all  countries  the  common 
people  go  to  executions  to  see  how  the  poor  wretch 
plays  his  part,  rather  than  to  commiserate  his  fate, 
much  less  to  think  of  the  breach  of  morality  which 
has  brought  him  to  such  a  deplorable  end.  Con- 
sequently executions,  far  from  being  useful  examples 


154  LETTERS   ON    SWEDEN, 

to  tlie  survivors,  have,  I  am  persuaded,  a  quite  contrary 
effect,  by  hardening  the  heart  they  ought  to  terrify. 
Besides  the  fear  of  an  ignominious  death,  I  believe, 
never  deterred  anyone  from  the  commission  of  a  crime, 
because,  in  committing  it,  the  mind  is  roused  to 
activity  about  present  circumstances.  It  is  a  game  at 
hazard,  at  which  all  expect  the  turn  of  the  die  in  their 
own  favour,  never  reflecting  on  the  chance  of  ruin  till 
it  comes.  In  fact,  from  what  I  saw  in  the  fortresses 
of  Norway,  I  am  more  and  more  convinced  that  the 
same  energy  of  character  which  renders  a  man  a  daring 
villain  would  have  rendered  him  useful  to  society,  had 
that  society  been  well  organised.  When  a  strong  mind 
is  not  disciplined  by  cultivation  it  is  a  sense  of  in- 
justice that  renders  it  unjust. 

Executions,  however,  occur  very  rarely  at  Copen- 
hagen ;  for  timidity,  rather  than  clemency,  palsies  all 
the  operations  of  the  present  Government.  The  male- 
factor who  died  this  morning  would  not,  probably, 
have  been  punished  with  death  at  any  other  period ; 
but  an  incendiary  excites  universal  execration  ;  and  as 
the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  are  still  distressed 
by  the  late  conflagration,  an  example  was  thought  ab- 
solutely necessary ;  though,  from,  what  I  can  gather, 
the  fire  was  accidental. 

Not,  but  that  I  have  very  seriously  been  informed, 
that  combustible  materials  were  placed  at  proper  dis- 
tance, by  the  emissaries  of  Mr.  Pitt ;  and,  to  corroborate 
the  fact,  many  people  insist  that  the  flames  burst  out 
nfc  once  in  different  parts  of  the  city ;  not  allowing  the 
wind  to  have  any  hand  in  it.  So  much  for  the  plot. 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  155 

But  the  fabricators  of  plots  in  all  countries  build  their 
conjectures  on  the  "  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision ;  "  and 
it  seems  even  a  sort  of  poetical  justice,  that  whilst  this 
Minister  is  crushing  at  home  plots  of  his  own  conjuring* 
up,  on  the  Continent,  and  in  the  north,  lie  should,  with  as 
little  foundation,  be  accused  of  wishing  to  set  the 
world  on  fire. 

I  forgot  to  mention  to  you,  that  I  was  informed,  by 
a  man  of  veracity,  that  two  persons  came  to  the  stake 
to  drink  a  glass  of  the  criminal's  blood,  as  an  infallible 
remedy  for  the  apoplexy.  And  when  I  animadverted 
in  the  company,  where  it  was  mentioned,  on  such  a 
horrible  violation  of  nature,  a  Danish  lady  reproved 
me  very  severely,  asking  how  I  knew  that  it  was  not  a 
cure  for  the  disease  ?  adding,  that  every  attempt  was 
justifiable  in  search  of  health.  I  did  not,  you  may 
imagine,  enter  into  an  argument  with  a  person  the 
slave  of  such  a  gross  prejudice.  And  I  allude  to  it 
not  only  as  a  trait  of  the  ignorance  of  the  people,  but 
to  censure  the  Government  for  not  preventing  scenes 
that  throw  an  odium  on  the  human  race. 

Empiricism  is  not  peculiar  to  Denmark ;  and  I  know 
no  way  of  rooting  it  out,  though  it  be  a  remnant  of 
exploded  witchcraft,  till  the  acquiring  a  general  know- 
ledge of  the  component  parts  of  the  human  frame  be- 
comes a  part  of  public  education. 

Since  the  fire,  the  inhabitants  have  been  very  as- 
siduously employed  in  searching  for  property  secreted 
during  the  confusion  ;  and  it  is  astonishing  how  many 
people^,  formerly  termed  reputable,  had  availed  them- 
selves of  the  common  calamity  to  purloin  what  the 


156  LETTERS   ON   EWEDEN, 

flames  spared.  Others,  expert  at  making1  a  distinction 
without  a  difference,  concealed  what  they  found,  not 
troubling  themselves  to  inquire  for  the  owners,  though 
they  scrupled  to  search  for  plunder  anywhere,  but 
amongst  the  ruins. 

To  be  honester  than  the  laws  require  is  by  most 
people  thought  a  work  of  supererogation ;  and  to  slip 
through  the  grate  of  the  law  has  ever  exercised  the 
abilities  of  adventurers,  who  wish  to  get  rich  the 
shortest  way.  Knavery  without  personal  danger  is  an 
art  brought  to  great  perfection  by  the  statesman  and 
swindler;  and  meaner  knaves  are  not  tardy  in  follow- 
ing their  footsteps. 

It  moves  my  gall  to  discover  some  of  the  commercial 
frauds  practised  during  the  present  war.  In  short, 
under  whatever  point  of  view  I  consider  society,  it 
appears  to  me  that  an  adoration  of  property  is  the 
root  of  all  evil.  Here  it  does  not  render  the  people 
enterprising,  as  in  America,  but  thrifty  and  cautious. 
I  never,  therefore,  was  in  a  capital  where  there  was 
so  little  appearance  of  active  industry;  and  as  for 
gaiety,  I  looked  in  vain  for  the  sprightly  gait  of  the 
Norwegians,  who  in  every  respect  appear  to  me  to  have 
got  the  start  of  them.  This  difference  I  attribute  to 
their  having  more  liberty — a  liberty  which  they  think 
their  right  by  inheritance,  whilst  the  Danes,  when  they 
boast  of  their  negative  happiness,  always  mention  it 
as  the  boon  of  the  Prince  Royal,  under  the  superin- 
tending wisdom  of  Count  Bernstorff.  Vassalage 
is  nevertheless  ceasing  throughout  the  kingdom,  and 
with  \l  will  pass  away  that  sordid  avarice  which 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  157 

every  modification  of  slavery  is  calculated  to  pro- 
duce. 

If  the  chief  use  of  property  be  power,  in  the  shape 
of  the  respect  it  procures,  is  it  not  among  the  incon- 
sistencies of  human  nature  most  incomprehensible, 
that  men  should  find  a  pleasure  in  hoarding  up 
property  which  they  steal  from  their  necessities,  even 
when  they  are  convinced  that  it  would  be  dangerous  to 
display  such  an  enviable  superiority  ?  Is  not  this  the 
situation  of  serfs  in  every  country.  Yet  a  rapacity  to 
accumulate  money  seems  to  become  stronger  in  pro- 
portion as  it  is  allowed  to  be  useless. 

Wealth  does  not  appear  to  be  sought  for  amongst 
the  Danes,  to  obtain  the  excellent  luxuries  of  life,  for 
a  want  of  taste  is  very  conspicuous  at  Copenhagen  ;  so 
much  so  that  I  am  not  surprised  to  hear  that  poor 
Matilda  offended  the  rigid  Lutherans  by  aiming  to  re- 
fine their  pleasures.  The  elegance  which  she  wished  to 
introduce  was  termed  lasciviousness  ;  yet  I  do  not  find 
that  the  absence  of  gallantry  renders  the  wives  more 
chaste,  or  the  husbands  more  constant.  Love  here 
seems  to  corrupt  the  morals  without  polishing  the 
manners,  by  banishing  confidence  and  truth,  the  charm 
as  well  as  cement  of  domestic  life.  A  gentleman,  who 
has  resided  in  this  city  some  time,  assures  me  that  he 
could  not  find  language  to  give  me  an  idea  of  the  gross 
debaucheries  into  which  the  lower  order  of  people  fall ; 
and  the  promiscuous  amours  of  the  men  of  the  middling 
class  with  their  female  servants  debase  both  beyond 
measure,  weakening  every  species  of  family  affection. 

I  have  everywhere  been  struck  by  one  characteristic 


158  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

difference  in  the  conduct  of  tlio  two  sexes ;  women,  in 
general,  are  scdnced  by  their  superiors,  and  men  jilted 
by  their  inferiors  :  rank  and  manners  awe  the  one,  and 
cunning  and  wantonness  subjugate  the  other  ;  ambition 
creeping  into  the  woman's  passion,  and  tyranny  giving 
force  to  the  man's,  for  most  men  treat  their  mistresses 
as  kings  do  their  favourites :  ergo  is  not  man  then  the 
tyrant  of  the  creation  ? 

Still  harping  on  the  same  subject,  you  will  exclaim 
— How  can  I  avoid  it,  when  most  of  the  struggles  of  an 
eventful  life  have  been  occasioned  by  the  oppressed 
state  of  nay  sex?  We  reason  deeply  when  we  feel 
forcibly. 

But  to  return  to  the  straight  road  of  observation. 
The  sensuality  so  prevalent  appears  to  me  to  arise 
rather  from  indolence  of  mind  and  dull  senses,  than 
from  an  exuberance  of  life,  which  often  fructifies  the 
whole  character  when  the  vivacity  of  youthful  spirits 
begins  to  subside  into  strength  of  mind. 

I  have  before  mentioned  that  the  men  are  domestic 
tyrants,  considering  them  as  fathers,  brothers,  or  hus- 
bands ;  but  there  is  a  kind  of  interregnum  between  the 
reign  of  the  father  and  husband  which  is  the  only 
period  of  freedom  and  pleasure  that  the  women  enjoy. 
Young  people  who  are  attached  to  each  other,  with  the 
consent  of  their  friends,  exchange  rings,  and  are  per- 
mitted to  enjoy  a  degree  of  liberty  together  which  I 
have  never  noticed  in  any  other  country.  The  days  of 
courtship  are,  therefore,  prolonged  till  it  be  perfectly 
convenient  to  marry  :  the  intimacy  often  becomes  very 
tender ;  and  if  the  lover  obtain  the  privilege  of  a  hus- 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  159 

band,  it  can  only  be  termed  half  by  stealth,  because  the 
family  is  wilfully  blind.  It  happens  very  rarely  that 
these  honorary  engagements  are  dissolved  or  disre- 
garded, a  stigma  being  attached  to  a  breach  of  faith 
which  is  thought  more  disgraceful,  if  not  so  criminal, 
as  the  violation  of  fhe  marriage- vow. 

Do  not  forget  that,  in  my  general  observations,  I  do 
not  pretend  to  sketch  a  national  character,  but  merely 
to  note  the  present  state  of  morals  and  manners  as  I 
trace  the  progress  of  the  world's  improvement.  Be- 
cause, during  my  residence  in  different  countries,  my 
principal  object  has  been  to  take  such  a  dispassionate 
view  of  men  as  will  lead  me  to  form  a  just  idea  of  the 
nature  of  man.  And,  to  deal  ingenuously  with  you, 
I  believe  I  should  have  been  less  severe  in  the  remarks 
I  have  made  on  the  vanity  and  depravity  of  the  French, 
had  I  travelled  towards  the  north  before  I  visited 
France. 

The  interesting  picture  frequently  drawn  of  the 
virtues  of  a  rising  people  has,  I  fear,  been  fallacious, 
excepting  the  accounts  of  the  enthusiasm  which  various 
public  struggles  have  produced.  We  talk  of  the  de- 
pravity of  the  French,  and  lay  a  stress  on  the  old  age 
of  the  nation ;  yet  where  has  more  virtuous  enthusiasm 
been  displayed  than  during  the  two  last  years  by  the 
common  people  of  France,  and  in  their  armies  ?  I  am 
obliged  sometimes  to  recollect  the  numberless  instances 
which  I  have  either  witnessed,  or  heard  well  authenti- 
cated, to  balance  the  account  of  horrors,  alas !  but  too 
true.  I  am,  therefore,  inclined  to  believe  that  the 
gross  vices  which  I  have  always  seen  allied  with 


160  LETTERS   ON    SWEDEN, 

simplicity  of  manners,  are  the  concomitants  of  ignor- 
ance. 

What,  for  example,  has  piety,  under  the  heathen  or 
Christian  system,  been,  but  a  blind  faitli  in  things  con- 
trary to  the  principles  of  reason  ?  And  could  poor 
reason  make  considerable  advances  when  it  was  reck- 
oned the  highest  degree  of  virtue  to  do  violence  to  its 
dictates  ?  Lutherans,  preaching  reformation,  have 
built  a  reputation  for  sanctity  on  the  same  foundation 
as  the  Catholics;  yet  I  do  not  perceive  that  a  regular 
attendance  on  public  worship,  and  their  other  observ- 
ances, make  them  a  whit  more  true  in  their  affections, 
or  honest  in  their  private  transactions.  It  seems,  in- 
deed, quite  as  easy  to  prevaricate  with  religious  injunc- 
tions as  human  laws,  when  the  exercise  of  their  reason 
does  not  lead  people  to  acquire  principles  for  themselves 
to  be  the  criterion  of  all  those  they  receive  from  others. 

If  travelling,  as  the  completion  of  a  liberal  educa- 
tion, were  to  be  adopted  on  rational  grounds,  the 
northern  states  ought  to  be  visited  before  the  more 
polished  parts  of  Europe,  to  serve  as  the  elements 
even  of  the  knowledge  of  manners,  only  to  be  acquired 
by  tracing  the  various  shades  in  different  countries. 
But,  when  visiting  distant  climes,  a  momentary  social 
sympathy  should  not  be  allowed  to  influence  the  con- 
clusions of  the  understanding,  for  hospitality  too  fre- 
quently leads  travellers,  especially  those  who  travel  in 
search  of  pleasure,  to  make  a  false  estimate  of  the 
virtues  of  a  nation,  which,  I  am  now  couvinc3d,  bear 
an  exact  proportion  to  their  scientific  improvements. 

Adieu. 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  161 


LETTER   XX 

I  HAVE  formerly  censured  the  French  for  their  extreme 
attachment  to  theatrical  exhibitions,  because  I  thought 
that  they  tended  to  render  them  vain  and  unnatural 
characters ;  but  I  must  acknowledge,  especially  as 
women  of  the  town  never  appear  in  the  Parisian  as  at 
our  theatres,  that  the  little  saving  of  the  week  is  more 
usefully  expended  there  every  Sunday  than  in  porter 
or  brandy,  to  intoxicate  or  stupify  the  mind.  The 
common  people  of  France  have  a  great  superiority  over 
that  class  in  every  other  country  on  this  very  score. 
It  is  merely  the  sobriety  of  the  Parisians  which  renders 
their  fetes  more  interesting,  their  gaiety  never  becoming 
disgusting  or  dangerous,  as  is  always  the  case  when 
liquor  circulates.  Intoxication  is  the  pleasure  of 
savages,  and  of  all  those  whose  employments  rather  ex- 
haust their  animal  spirits  than  exercise  their  faculties. 
Is  not  this,  in  fact,  the  vice,  both  in  England  and  the 
northern  states  of  Europe,  which  appears  to  b«  tho 
greatest  impediment  to  general  improvement  ?  Drink- 
ing is  here  the  principal  relaxation  of  the  men,  including 
smoking,  but  the  women  are  very  abstemious,  though 
they  have  no  public  amusements  as  a  substitute.  I 
ought  to  except  one  theatre,  which  appears  more  than 
is  necessary  ;  for  when  I  was  there  it  was  not  half  full, 
and  neither  the  ladies  nor  actresses  displayed  much 
fancy  in  their  dress. 

Tho  play  was   founded  on  the  story  of  the  "  Mock 
F— 188 


162  LETTERS  ON   SWEDEN, 

Doctor  ; "  and,  from  the  gestures  of  the  servants,  who 
were  the  best  actors,  I  should  imagine  contained  some 
humour.  The  farce,  termed  ballet,  was  a  kind  of  panto- 
mime, the  childish  incidents  of  which  were  sufficient 
to  show  the  state  of  the  dramatic  art  in  Denmark,  and 
the  gross  taste  of  the  audience.  A  magician,  in  the 
disguise  of  a  tinker,  enters  a  cottage  where  the  women 
are  all  busy  ironing,  and  rubs  a  dirty  frying-pan  against 
the  linen.  The  women  raise  a  hue-and-cry,  and  dance 
after  him,  rousing  their  husbands,  who  join  in  the 
dance,  but  get  the  start  of  them  in  the  pursuit.  The 
tinker,  with  the  frying-pan  for  a  shield,  renders  them 
immovable,  and  blacks  their  cheeks.  Each  laughs  at 
the  other,  unconscious  of  his  own  appearance ;  mean- 
while the  women  enter  to  enjoy  the  sport,  "  the  rare 
fun,"  with  other  incidents  of  the  same  species. 

The  singing  was  much  on  a  par  with  the  dancing, 
the  one  as  destitute  of  grace  as  the  other  of  expression ; 
but  the  orchestra  was  well  tilled,  the  instrumental  being 
far  superior  to  the  vocal  music. 

I  have  likewise  visited  the  public  library  and  museum, 
as  well  as  the  palace  of  Rosembourg.  This  palace, 
now  deserted,  displays  a  gloomy  kind  of  grandeur 
throughout,  for  the  silence  of  spacious  apartments 
always  makes  itself  to  be  felt ;  I  at  least  feel  it,  and  I 
listen  for  the  sound  of  my  footsteps  as  I  have  done  at 
midnight  to  the  ticking  of  the  death-watch,  encouraging 
a  kind  of  fanciful  superstition.  Every  object  carried 
me  back  to  past  times,  and  impressed  the  manners  of 
the  age  forcibly  on  my  mind.  In  this  point  of  view 
the  preservation  of  old  palaces  and  their  tarnished 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  163 

furniture  is  useful,  for  they  may  be  considered  as  his- 
torical documents. 

The  vacuum  left  by  departed  greatness  was  every- 
where observable,  whilst  the  battles  and  processions 
portrayed  on  the  walls  told  you  who  had  here  excited 
revelry  after  retiring  from  slaughter,  or  dismissed 
pageantry  in  search  of  pleasure.  It  seemed  a  vast 
tomb  full  of  the  shadowy  phantoms  of  those  who  had 
played  or  toiled  their  hour  out  and  sunk  behind  the 
tapestry  which  celebrated  the  conquests  of  love  or  war. 
Could  they  be  no  more — to  whom  my  imagination  thus 
gave  life  ?  Could  the  thoughts,  of  which  there  re- 
mained so  many  vestiges,  have  vanished  quite  away  ? 
And  these  beings,  composed  of  such  noble  materials  of 
thinking  and  feeling,  have  they  only  melted  into  the 
elements  to  keep  in  motion  the  grand  mass  of  life  ? 
It  cannot  be  ! — as  easily  could  I  believe  that  the  large 
silver  lions  at  the  top  of  the  banqueting  room  thought 
and  reasoned.  But  avaunt !  ye  waking  dreams  !  yet 
I  cannot  describe  the  curiosities  to  you. 

There  were  cabinets  full  of  baubles  and  gems,  and 
swords  which  must  have  been  wielded  by  giant's  hand. 
The  coronation  ornaments  wait  quietly  here  till  wanted, 
and  the  wardrobe  exhibits  the  vestments  which  formerly 
graced  these  shows.  It  is  a  pity  they  do  not  lend  them 
to  the  actors,  instead  of  allowing  them  to  perish  in- 
gloriously. 

I  have  not  visited  any  other  palace,  excepting  Hirs- 
holm,  the  gardens  of  which  are  laid  out  with  taste,  and 
command  the  finest  views  the  country  affords.  As  they 
are  in  the  modern  and  English  style,  I  thought  I  was 


1G4  LETTERS   ON    SWEDEN, 

following  the  footsteps  of  Matilda,  who  wished,  to 
multiply  around  her  the  images  of  her  beloved  country. 
I  was  also  gratified  by  the  sight  of  a  Norwegian  land- 
scape in  miniature,  which  with  great  propriety  makes 
a  part  of  the  Danish  King's  garden.  The  cottage  is 
well  imitated,  and  the  whole  has  a  pleasing  effect,  par- 
ticularly so  to  me  who  love  Norway — its  peaceful  farms 
and  spacious  wilds. 

The  public  library  consists  of  a  collection  much 
larger  than  I  expected  to  see ;  and  it  is  well  arranged. 
Of  the  value  of  the  Icelandic  manuscripts  I  could  not 
form  a  judgment,  though  the  alphabet  of  some  of  them 
amused  me,  by  showing  what  immense  labour  men  will 
submit  to,  in  order  to  transmit  their  ideas  to  posterity. 
I  have  sometimes  thought  it  a  great  misfortune  for 
individuals  to  acquire  a  certain  delicacy  of  sentiment, 
which  often  makes  them  weary  of  the  common  occur- 
rences of  life ;  yet  it  is  this  very  delicacy  of  feeling 
and  thinking  which  probably  has  produced  most  of  the 
performances  that  have  benefited  mankind.  It  might 
with  propriety,  perhaps,  be  termed  the  malady  of 
genius;  the  cause  of  that  characteristic  melancholy 
which  "  grows  with  its  growth,  and  strengthens  with 
its  strength." 

There  are  some  good  pictures  in  the  royal  museum. 
Do  not  start,  I  am  not  going  to  trouble  you  with  a  dull 
catalogue,  or  stupid  criticisms  on  masters  to  whom 
time  has  assigned  their  just  niche  in  the  temple  of 
fame ;  had  there  been  any  by  living  artists  of  thi.s 
country,  I  should  have  noticed  them,  as  making  a  part 
of  the  sketches  I  am  drawing  of  the  present  state  of 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  1C5 

the  place.  The  good  pictures  wore  mixed  indiscrimi- 
nately with  the  bad  ones,  in  order  to  assort  the  frames. 
The  same  fault  is  conspicuous  in  the  new  splendid 
gallery  forming  at  Paris ;  though  it  seems  an  obvious 
thought  that  a  school  for  artists  ought  to  be  arranged 
in  such  a  manner,  as  to  show  the  progressive  discoveries 
and  improvements  in  the  art. 

A  collection  of  the  dresses,  arms,  and  implements  of 
the  Laplanders  attracted  my  attention,  displaying  that 
first  species  of  ingenuity  which  is  rather  a  proof  of 
patient  perseverance,  than  comprehension  of  mind. 
The  specimens  of  natural  history,  and  curiosities  of  art, 
were  likewise  huddled  together  without  that  scientific 
order  which  alone  renders  them  useful ;  but  this  may 
partly  have  been  occasioned  by  the  hasty  manner  in 
which  they  were  removed  from  the  palace  when  in 
flames. 

There  are  some  respectable  men  of  science  here,  but 
few  literary  characters,  and  fewer  artists.  They  want 
encouragement,  and  will  continue,  I  fear,  from  the 
present  appearance  of  things,  to  languish  unnoticed  a 
long  time;  for  neither  the  vanity  of  wealth,  nor  the 
enterprising  spirit  of  commerce,  has  yet  thrown  a  glance 
that  way. 

Besides,  the  Prince  Royal,  determined  to  be  econom- 
ical, almost  descends  to  parsimony;  and  perhaps  de- 
presses his  subjects,  by  labouring  not  to  oppress 
them ;  for  his  intentions  always  seem  to  be  good — yet 
nothing  can  give  a  more  forcible  idea  of  the  dulness 
which  eats  away  all  activity  of  mind,  than  the  insipid 
routine  of  a  court,  without  magnificence  or  elegance. 


166  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

The  Prince,  from  what  Lean  iiow  collect,  lias  very 
moderate  abilities;  yet  is  so  well  disposed,  that  Count 
Bernstorff  finds  him  as  tractable  as  he  could  wish  ;  for 
I  consider  the  Count  as  the  real  sovereign,  scarcely 
behind  the  curtain;  the  Prince  having  none  of  that 
obstinate  self-sufficiency  of  youth,  so  often  the  fore- 
runner of  decision  of  character.  He  and  the  Princess 
his  wife,  dine  every  day  with  the  King,  to  save  the 
expense  of  two  tables,  What  a  mummery  it  must  be 
to  treat  as  a  king  a  being  who  has  lost  the  majesty  of 
man !  But  even  Count  Bernstorff's  morality  submits 
to  this  standing  imposition ;  and  he  avails  himself  of 
it  sometimes,  to  soften  a  refusal  of  his  own,  by  saying 
it  is  the  will  of  the  King,  my  master,  when  everybody 
knows  that  he  has  neither  will  nor  memory.  Much  the 
same  use  is  made  of  him  as,  I  have  observed,  some 
termagant  wives  make  of  their  husbands ;  they  would 
dwell  on  the  necessity  of  obeying  their  husbands,  poor 
passive  souls,  who  never  were  allowed  to  will,  when 
they  wanted  to  conceal  their  own  tyranny. 

A  story  is  told  here  of  the  King's  formerly  making  a 
dog  counsellor  of  state,  because  when  the  dog,  accus- 
tomed to  eat  at  the  royal  table,  snatched  a  piece  of 
meat  off  an  old  officer's  plate,  he  reproved  him  jocosely, 
saying  that  he,  monsieur  le  chien,  had  not  the  privilege 
of  dining  with  his  majesty,  a  privilege  annexed  to 
this  distinction. 

The  burning  of  the  palace  was,  in  fact,  a  fortunate 
circumstance,  as  it  afforded  a  pretext  for  reducing  the 
establishment  of  the  household,  which  was  far  too  great 
for  the  revenue  of  the  Crown.  The  Prince  Royal,  at 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  167 

present,  runs  into  the  opposite  extreme ;  and  the 
formality,  if  not  the  parsimony,  of  the  court,  seems  to 
extend  to  all  the  other  branches  of  society,  which  I  had 
an  opportunity  of  observing ;  though  hospitality  still 
characterises  their  intercourse  with  strangers. 

But  let  me  now  stop ;  I  may  be  a  little  partial,  and 
view  everything  with  the  jaundiced  eye  of  melancholy 
—for  I  am  sad — and  have  cause. 

God  bless  you ! 


LETTER  XXL 

I  HAVE  seen  Count  Bernstorff ;  and  his- conversation 
confirms  me  in  the  opinion  I  had  previously  formed  of 
him ;  I  mean,  since  my  arrival  at  Copenhagen.  He  is 
a  worthy  man,  a  little  vain  of  his  virtue  a  la  Necker ; 
and  more  anxious  not  to  do  wrong,  that  is  to  avoid 
blame,  than  desirous  of  doing  good ;  especially  if  any 
particular  good  demands  a  change.  Prudence,  in 
short,  seems  to  be  the  basis  of  his  character ;  and,  from 
the  tenor  of  the  Government,  I  should  think  inclining 
to  that  cautious  circumspection  which  treads  o'n  the 
heels  of  timidity.  He  has  considerable  information, 
and  some  finesse;  or  he  could  not  be  a  Minister. 
Determined  not  to  risk  his  popularity,  for  he  is 
tenderly  careful  of  his  reputation,  he  will  never 
gloriously  fail  like  Struensee,  or  disturb,  with  the 
energy  of  genius,  the  stagnant  state  of  the  public 
mind. 

I   suppose  that  Lavater,  whom  he  invited   to  visit 


168  LETTERS   ON    SWEDEN, 

him  two  years  ago — some  say  to  fix  the  principles  of  tlio 
Christian  religion  firmly  in  the  Prince  Royal's  mind, 
found  lines  in  his  face  to  prove  him  a  statesman  of  the 
first  order;  because  he  has  a  knack  at  seeing  a  great 
character  in  the  countenances  of  men  in  exalted 
stations,  who  have  noticed  him  or  his  works.  Besides, 
the  Count's  sentiments  relative  to  the  French  Revolu- 
tion, agreeing  with  Lavater's,  must  have  ensured  his 
applause. 

The  Danes,  in  general,  seem  extremely  averse  to 
innovation,  and  if  happiness  only  consist  in  opinion, 
they  are  the  happiest  people  in  the  world  ;  for  I  never 
saw  any  so  well  satisfied  with  their  own  situation.  Yet 
the  climate  appears  to  be  v^ry  disagreeable,  the 
weather  being  dry  and  sultry,  or  moist  and  cold ;  the 
atmosphere  never  having  that  sharp,  bracing  purity, 
which  in  Norway  prepares  you  to  brave  its  rigours. 
I  do  not  hear  the  inhabitants  of  this  place  talk  with 
delight  of  the  winter,  which  is  the  constant  theme  of 
the  Norwegians ;  on  the  contrary,  they  seem  to  dread 
its  comfortless  inclemency. 

The  ramparts  are  pleasant,  and  must  have  been  much 
more  so  before  the  fire,  the  walkers  not  being  annoyed 
by  the  clouds  of  dust  which,  at  present,  the  slightest 
wind  wafts  from  the  ruins.  The  windmills,  and  the 
comfortable  houses  contiguous,  belonging  to  the 
millers,  as  well  as  the  appearance  of  the  spacious 
barracks  for  the. soldiers  and  sailors,  tend  to  rendor 
this  walk  more  agreeable.  The  view  of  the  country 
has  not  much  to  recommend  it  to  notice  but  its  extent 
and  cultivation  :  yet  as  the  eye  always  delights  to  dwell 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  1G9 

on  verdant  plains,  especially  when  we  are  resident  in 
a  great  city,  these  shady  walks  should  be  reckoned 
amongst  the  advantages  procured  by  the  Government 
for  the  inhabitants.  I  like  them  better  than  the  Royal 
Gardens,  also  open  to  the  public,  because  the  latter 
seem  sunk  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  to  concentrate  its 
fogs. 

The  canals  which  intersect  the  streets  are  equally 
convenient  and  wholesome ;  but  the  view  of  the  sea 
commanded  by  the  town  had  little  to  interest  me 
whilst  the  remembrance  of  the  various  bold  and 
picturesque  shores  I  had  seen  was  fresh  in  my  memory. 
Still  the  opulent  inhabitants,  who  seldom  go  abroad, 
must  find  the  spots  where  they  fix  their  country  seats 
much  pleasanter  on  account  of  the  vicinity  of  the 
ocean. 

One  of  the  best  streets  in  Copenhagen  is  almost 
filled  with  hospitals,  erected  by  the  Government,  and, 
I  am  assured,  as  well  regulated  as  institutions  of  this 
kind  are  in  any  country;  but  whether  hospitals  or 
workhouses  are  anywhere  superintended  with  sufficient 
humanity  I  have  frequently  had  reason  to  doubt. 

The  autumn  is  so  uncommonly  fine  that  I  am  un- 
willing to  put  off  my  journey  to  Hamburg  much 
longer,  lest  the  weather  should  alter  suddenly,  and  the 
chilly  harbingers  of  winter  catch  me  here,  where  I  have 
nothing  now  to  detain  me  but  the  hospitality  of  the 
families  to  whom  I  had  recommendatory  letters.  I 
lodged  at  an  hotel  situated  in  a  large  open  square, 
where  the  troops  exercise  and  the  market  is  kept.  My 
apartments  were  very  good ;  and  on  account  of  the  fire 


170  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

I  was  told  that  I  should  be  charged  very  high ;  yet, 
paying  my  bill  just  now,  I  find  the  demands  much 
lower  in  proportion  than  in  Norway,  though  my  dinners 
were  in  every  respect  better. 

I  have  remained  more  at  home  since  I  arrived  at 
Copenhagen  than  I  ought  to  have  done  in  a  strange 
place,  but  the  mind  is  not  always  equally  active  in 
search  of  information,  and  my  oppressed  heart  too 
often  sighs  out — 

"  How  dull,  flat,  and  unprofitable 
Are  to  me  all  the  usages  of  this  world  : 
That  it  should  come  to  this  ! " 

Farewell!  Fare  thee  well,  I  say;  if  thou  canst, 
repeat  the  adieu  in  a  different  tone. 


LETTER   XXII. 

I  ARRIVED  at  Corsoer  the  night  after  I  quitted  Copen- 
hagen, purposing  to  take  my  passage  across  the  Great 
Belt  the  next  morning,  though  the  weather  was  rather 
boisterous.  It  is  about  four-and-twenty  miles  but  as 
both  I  and  my  little  girl  are  never  attacked  by  sea- 
sickness— though  who  can  avoid  ennui  ? — I  enter  a  boat 
with  the  same  indifference  as  I  change  horses ;  and  as 
for  danger,  come  when  it  may,  I  dread  it  not  sufficiently 
to  have  any  anticipating  fears. 

The  road  from  Copenhagen  was  very  good,  through 
an  open,  flat  country  that  had  little  to  recommend  it 


NORWAY,   AND    DENMARK.  171 

to  notice  excepting'  the  cultivation,  which  gratified  my 
heart  more  than  my  eye. 

I  took  a  barge  with  a  German  baron  who  was  hasten- 
ing back  from  a  tour  into  Denmark,  alarmed  by  the 
intelligence  of  the  French  having  passed  the  Rhine. 
His  conversation  beguiled  the  time,  and  gave  a  sort  of 
stimulus  to  my  spirits,  which  had  been  growing  more 
and  more  languid  ever  since  my  return  to  Gothenburg ; 
you  know  why.  I  had  often  endeavoured  to  rouse  my- 
self to  observation  by  reflecting  that  I  was  passing 
through  scenes  which  I  should  probably  never  see 
again,  and  consequently  ought  not  to  omit  observing. 
Still  I  fell  into  reveries,  thinking,  by  way  of  excuse, 
that  enlargement  of  mind  and  refined  feelings  are  of 
little  use  but  to  barb  the  arrows  of  sorrow  which  way- 
lay us  everywhere,  eluding  the  sagacity  of  wisdom  and 
rendering  principles  unavailing,  if  considered  as  a 
breastwork  to  secure  our  own  hearts. 

Though  wo  had  not  a  direct  wind,  we  were  not  de- 
tained more  than  three  hours  and  a  half  on  the  water, 
just  long  enough  to  give  us  an  appetite  for  our  dinner. 

We  travelled  the  remainder  of  the  day  and  the  fol- 
lowing night  in  company  with  the  same  party,  the 
German  gentleman  whom  I  have  mentioned,  his  friend, 
and  servant.  The  meetings  at  the  post-houses  wero 
pleasant  to  me,  who  usually  heard  nothing  but  strange 
tongues  around  me.  Marguerite  and  the  child  often 
fell  asleep,  and  when  they  were  awake  I  might  still 
reckon  myself  alone,  as  our  train  of  thoughts  had  no- 
thing in  common.  Marguerite,  it  is  true,  was  much 
amused  by  the  costume  of  the  women,  particularly  by 


172  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

ilie  pannier  which  adomod  both  their  heads  and  tails, 
and  with  great  glee  recounted  to  me  the  stories  she  had 
treasured  up  for  her  family  when  once  more  within  the 
barriers  of  dear  Paris,  not  forgetting,  with  that  arch, 
agreeable  vanity  peculiar  to  the  French,  which  they 
exhibit  whilst  half  ridiculing  it,  to  remind  me  of  the 
importance  she  should  assume  when  she  informed  her 
friends  of  all  her  journeys  by  sea  and  land,  showing 
the  pieces  of  money  she  had  collected,  and  stammering 
out  a  few  foreign  phrases,  whicli  she  repeated  in  a  true 
Parisian  accent.  Happy  thoughtlessness !  ay,  and  en- 
viable harmless  vanity,  which  thus  produced  a  gaite  du 
cceur  worth  all  my  philosophy  ! 

The  man  I  had  hired  at  Copenhagen  advised  me  to 
go  round  about  twenty  miles  to  avoid  passing  the 
Little  Belt  excepting  by  a  ferry,  as  the  wind  was  con- 
trary. But  the  gentlemen  overruled  his  arguments, 
which  we  were  all  very  sorry  for  afterwards,  when  we 
found  ourselves  becalmed  on  the  Little  Belt  ten  hours, 
tacking  about  without  ceasing,  to  gain  the  shore. 

An  oversight  likewise  made  the  passage  appear  much 
more  tedious,  nay,  almost  insupportable.  When  I  went 
on  board  at  the  Great  Belt,  I  had  provided  refresh- 
ments in  case  of  detention,  which  remaining  untouched 
I  thought  not  then  any  such  precaution  necessary  for 
the  second  passage,  misled  by  the  epithet  of  "  little," 
though  I  have  since  been  informed  that  it  is  frequently 
the  longest.  This  mistake  occasioned  much  vexation ; 
for  the  child,  at  last,  began  to  cry  so  bitterly  for  bread, 
that  fancy  conjured  up  before  me  the  wretched  Ugo- 
lino,  with  his  famished  children;  and  I,  literally 


NORWAY,    AND   DENMARK.  173 

speaking,  enveloped  myself  in  sympathetic  horrors, 
augmented  by  every  tear  my  babe  shed,  from  which  I 
could  not  escape  till  we  lauded,  and  a  luncheon  of 
bread  and  basin  of  milk  routed  the  spectres  of  fancy. 

I  then  supped  with  ray  companions,  Avith  whom  I 
was  soon  after  to  part  for  ever — always  a  most  melan- 
choly death-like  idea — a  sort  of  separation  of  soul; 
for  all  the  regret  which  follows  those  from  whom  fate 
separates  us  seems  to  be  something  torn  from  our- 
selves. These  were  strangers  I  remember ;  yet  when 
there  is  any  originality  in  a  countenance,  it  takes  its 
place  in  our  memory,  and  wo  are  sorry  to  lose  an  ac- 
quaintance the  moment  he  begins  to  interest  us,  though 
picked  up  on  the  highway.  There  was,  in  fact,  a 
degree  of  intelligence,  and  still  more  sensibility,  in 
the  features  and  conversation  of  one  of  the  gentlemen, 
that  made  me  regret  the  loss  of  his  society  during  the 
rest  of  the  journey;  for  lie  was  compelled  to  travel 
post,  by  his  desire  to  reach  his  estate  before  the  arrival 
of  the  French. 

This  was  a  comfortable  inn,  as  were  several  others  I 
stopped  at ;  but  the  heavy  sandy  roads  were  ve:y 
fatiguing,  after  the  fine  ones  we  had  lately  skimmed 
over  both  in  Sweden  and  Denmark.  The  country 
resembled  the  most  open  part  of  England — laid  out  for 
corn  rather  than  grazing.  It  was  pleasant,  yet  there 
was  little  in  the  prospects  to  awaken  curiosity,  by  dis- 
playing the  peculiar  characteristics  of  a  new  country, 
which  had  so  frequently  stole  me  from  myself  in 
Norway.  We  often  passed  ever  large  unenclosed 
tracts,  not  graced  with  trees,  or  at  least  very  sparingly 


174  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

enlivened  by  them,  and  the  hdf-fornied  roads  seemed 
to  demand  the  landmarks,  set  up  in  the  waste,  to 
prevent  the  traveller  from  straying  far  out  of  his  way, 
and  plodding  through  the  wearisome  sand. 

The  heaths  were  dreary,  and  had  none  of  the  wild 
charms  of  those  of  Sweden  and  Norway  to  cheat  time ; 
neither  the  terrific  rocks,  nor  smiling  herbage  grateful 
to  the  sight  and  scented  from  afar,  made  us  forget 
their  length.  Still  the  country  appeared  much  more 
populous,  and  the  towns,  if  not  the  farmhouses,  were 
superior  to  those  of  Norway.  I  even  thought  that  the 
inhabitants  of  the  former  had  more  intelligence — at 
least,  I  am  sure  they  had  more  vivacity  in  their  coun- 
tenances than  I  had  seen  during  my  northern  tour : 
their  senses  seemed  awake  to  business  and  pleasure. 
I  was  therefore  gratified  by  hearing  once  more  the 
busy  hum  of  industrious  men  in  the  day,  and  the 
exhilarating  sounds  of  joy  in  the  evening ;  for,  as  the 
weather  was  still  fine,  the  women  and  children  were 
amusing  themselves  at  their  doors,  or  walking  under 
the  trees,  which  in  many  places  were  planted  in  the 
streets ;  and  as  most  of  the  towns  of  any  note  were 
situated  on  little  bays  or  branches  of  the  Baltic,  their 
appearance  as  we  approached  was  often  very  pic- 
turesque, and,  when  we  entered,  displayed  the  comfort 
and  cleanliness  of  easy,  if  not  the  elegance  of  opulent, 
circumstances.  But  the  cheerfulness  of  the  people  in 
the  streets  was  particularly  grateful  to  me,  after  having 
been  depressed  by  the  deathlike  silence  of  those  of 
Denmark,  where  every  house  made  me  think  of  a  tomb. 
The  dress  of  the  peasantry  is  suited  to  the  climate ;  in 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  175 

short,  none  of  that  poverty  and  dirt  appeared,  at  the 
sight  of  which  the  heart  sickens. 

As  I  only  stopped  to  change  horses,  take  refresh- 
ment, and  sleep,  I  had  not  an  opportunity  of  knowing 
more  of  the  country  than  conclusions  which  the  in- 
formation gathered  by  my  eyes  enabled  me  to  draw, 
and  that  was  sufficient  to  convince  me  that  I  should 
much  rather  have  lived  in  some  of  the  towns  I  now 
pass  through  than  in  any  I  had  seen  in  Sweden  or 
Denmark.  The  people  struck  me  as  having  arrived  at 
that  period  when  the  faculties  will  unfold  themselves ; 
in  short,  they  look  alive  to  improvement,  neither  con- 
gealed by  indolence,  nor  bent  down  by  wretchedness  to 
servility. 

From  the  previous  impression — I  scarcely  can  trace 
whence  I  received  it — I  was  agreeably  surprised  to 
perceive  such  an  appearance  of  comfort  in  this  part  of 
Germany.  I  had  formed  a  conception  of  the  tyranny 
of  the  petty  potentates  that  had  thrown  a  gloomy  veil 
over  the  face  of  the  whole  country  in  my  imagination, 
that  cleared  away  like  the  darkness  of  night  before  the 
sun  as  I  saw  the  reality.  I  should  probably  have 
discovered  much  lurking  misery,  the  consequence  of 
ignorant  oppression,  no  doubt,  had  I  had  time  to  in- 
quire into  particulars  ;  but  it  did  not  stalk  abroad  and 
infect  the  surface  over  which  my  eye  glanced.  Yes, 
I  am  persuaded  that  a  considerable  degree  of  general 
knowledge  pervades  this  country,  for  it  is  only  from 
the  exercise  of  the  mind  that  the  body  acquires  the 
activity  from  which  I  drew  these  inferences.  Indeed, 
the  King  of  Denmark's  German  dominions — Holstein 


]70  LETTETIS   ON    SWEDEN, 

—appeared  to  me  far  superior  to  any  other  part  of  his 
kingdom  which  had  fallen  under  my  view ;  and  the 
robust  rustics  to  have  their  muscles  braced,  instead  of 
the,  as  it  were,  lounge  of  the  Danish  peasantry. 

Arriving  at  Sleswick,  the  residence  of  Prince 
Charles  of  Hesse-Cassel,  the  sight  of  the  soldiers 
recalled  all  the  uupleasing  ideas  of  German  despotism, 
which  imperceptibly  vanished  as  I  advanced  into  the 
country.  I  viewed,  with  a  mixture  of  pity  and  horror, 
these  beings  training  to  be  sold  to  slaughter,  or  be 
slaughtered,  and  fell  into  reflections  on  an  old  opinion 
of  mine,  that  it  is  the  preservation  of  the  species,  not 
of  individuals,  which  appears  to  be  the  design  of  the 
Deity  throughout  the  whole  of  Nature.  Blossoms 
come  fortli  only  to  be  blighted;  fish  lay  their  spawn 
where  it  will  be  devoured ;  and  what  a  large  portion 
of  the  human  race  are  born  merely  to  be  swept  pre- 
maturely away  !  Does  not  this  waste  of  budding  life 
emphatically  assert  that  it  is  not  men,  but  Man,  whose 
preservation  is  so  necessary  to  the  completion  of  the 
grand  plan  of  the  universe  ?  Children  peep  into 
existence,  suffer,  and  die  ;  men  play  like  moths  about  a 
candle,  and  sink  into  the  flame ;  war.  and  "  the  thousand 
ills  which  flesh  is  heir  to,"  mow  them  down  in  shoals  ; 
whilst  the  more  cruel  prejudices  of  society  palsy 
existence,  introducing  not  less  sure  though  slower 
decay. 

The  castle  was  heavy  and  gloomy,  yet  the  grounds 
about  it  were  laid  out  with  some  taste ;  a  walk,  winding 
under  the  shade  of  lofty  trees,  led  to  a  regularly  built 
uud  animal ed  town. 


NORWAY,    AND    DENMARK.  J7. 

I  crossed  the  drawbridge,  and  entered  to  see  tins 
shell  of  a  court  in  miniature,  mounting  ponderous 
stairs — it  would  be  a  solecism  to  say  a  flight — up 
which  a  regiment  of  men  might  have  marched,  shoulder- 
ing their  firelocks  to  exercise  in  vast  galleries,  where 
all  the  generations  of  the  Princes  of  Hesse-Cassel 
might  have  been  mustered  rank  and  file,  though  not 
the  phantoms  of  all  the  wretched  they  had  bartered  to 
support  their  state,  unless  these  airy  substances  could 
shrink  and  expand,  like  Milton's  devils,  to  suit  the 
occasion. 

The  sight  of  (he  presence-chamber,  and  of  the  canopy 
to  shade  the  fauteuil  which  aped  a  throne,  made  me 
smile.  All  the  world  is  a  stage,  thought  I ;  and  few 
are  there  in  it  who  do  not  play  the  part  they  have 
learnt  by  rote ;  and  those  who  do  not,  seem  marks  set 
up  to  be  pelted  at  by  fortune,  or  rather  as  sign-posts 
which  point  out  the  road  to  others,  whilst  forced  to 
stand  still  themselves  amidst  the  mud  and  dust. 

Waiting  for  our  horses,  we  were  amused  by  observ- 
ing the  dress  of  the  women,  which  was  very  grotesque 
and  unwieldy.  The  false  notion  of  beauty  which  pre- 
vails here  as  well  as  in  Denmark,  I  should  think  very 
inconvenient  in  summer,  as  it  consists  in  giving  a 
rotundity  to  a  certain  part  of  the  body,  not  the  most 
slim,  when  Nature  has  done  her  part.  This  Dutch 
prejudice  often  leads  them  to  toil  under  the  weight  of 
some  ten  or  a  dozen  petticoats,  which,  with  an  enor- 
mous basket,  literally  speaking,  as  a  bonnet,  or  a  straw 
hat  of  dimensions  equally  gigantic,  almost  completely 
conceal  the  human  form  as  well  as  face  divine,  offcii 


178  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

worth  showing ;  still  they  looked  clean,  and  tripped 
along,  as  it  were,  before  the  wind,  witli  a  weight  of 
tackle  that  I  could  scarcely  have  lifted.  Many  of  the 
country  girls  I  met  appeared  to  me  pretty — that  is,  to 
have  fine  complexions,  sparkling  eyes,  and  a  kind  of 
arch,  hoyden  playfulness  which  distinguishes  the 
village  coquette.  The  swains,  in  their  Sunday  trim, 
attended  some  of  these  fair  ones  in  a  more  slouching 
pace,  though  their  dress  was  not  so  cumbersome.  The 
women  seem  to  take  the  lead  in  polishing  the  manners 
everywhere,  this  being  the  only  way  to  better  their 
condition. 

From  what  I  have  seen  throughout  my  journey,  I  do 
not  think  the  situation  of  the  poor  in  England  is  much, 
if  at  all,  superior  to  that  of  the  same  class  in  different 
parts  of  the  world ;  and  in  Ireland  I  am  sure  it  is  much 
inferior.  I  allude  to  the  former  state  of  England  ;  for 
at  present  the  accumulation  of  national  wealth  only 
increases  the  cares  of  the  poor,  and  hardens  the  hearts 
of  the  rich,  in  spite  of  the  highly  extolled  rage  for 
almsgiving. 

Tou  know  that  I  have  always  been  an  enemy  to  what 
is  termed  charity,  because  timid  bigots,  endeavouring 
thus  to  cover  their  sins,  do  violence  to  justice,  till, 
acting  the  demigod,  they  forget  that  they  are  men. 
And  there  are  others  who  do  not  even  think  of  laying 
up  a  treasure  in  heaven,  whose  benevolence  is  merely 
tyranny  in  disguise;  they  assist  the  most  worthless, 
because  the  most  servile,  and  term  them  helpless  only 
in  proportion  to  their  fawning. 

After  leaving  Sleswick,  we  passed  through  several 


NORWAY,  AND  DENMARK.          179 

pretty  towns;  Itzcliol  particularly  pleased  me;  and 
the  country,  still  wearing  the  same  aspect,  was  improved 
by  the  appearance  of  more  trees  and  enclosures.  But 
what  gratified  me  most  was  the  population.  I  was 
weary  of  travelling  four  or  five  hours,  never  meeting  a 
carriage,  and  scarcely  a  peasant ;  and  then  to  stop  at 
such  wretched  huts  as  I  had  seen  in  Sweden  was  surely 
sufficient  to  chill  any  heart  awake  to  sympathy,  and 
throw  a  gloom  over  my  favourite  subject  of  contem- 
plation, the  future  improvement  of  the  world. 

The  farmhouses,  likewise,  with  the  huge  stables, 
into  which  we  drove  whilst  the  horses  were  putting  to 
or  baiting,  were  very  clean  and  commodious.  The 
rooms,  with  a  door  into  this  hall-like  stable  and  store- 
house in  one,  were  decent ;  and  there  was  a  compact- 
ness in  the  appearance  of  the  whole  family  lying  thus 
snugly  together  under  the  same  roof  that  carried  my 
fancy  back  to  the  primitive  times,  which  probably 
never  existed  with  such  a  golden  lustre  as  the  animated 
imagination  lends  when  only  able  to  seize  the  prominent 
features. 

At  one  of  them,  a  pretty  young  woman,  with  lan- 
guishing eyes  of  celestial  blue,  conducted  us  into  a  very 
neat  parlour,  and  observing  how  loosely  and  lightly 
my  little  girl  was  clad,  began  to  pity  her  in  the  sweetest 
accents,  regardless  of  the  rosy  down  of  health  on  her 
cheeks.  This  same  damsel  was  dressed — it  was  Sunday 
— with  taste  and  even  coquetry,  in  a  cotton  jacket, 
ornamented  with  knots  of  blue  ribbon,  fancifully  dis- 
posed to  give  life  to  her  fine  complexion.  I  loitered  a 
little  to  admire  her,  for  every  gesture  was  graceful^ 


180  LETTERS    ON    SWEDEN, 

and,  amidst  the  other  villagers,  she  looked  like  a 
garden  lily  suddenly  rearing  its  head  amongst  grain 
and  corn-flowers.  As  the  house  Avas  small,  I  gave  her 
a  piece  of  money  rather  larger  than  it  was  my  custom 
to  give  to  the  female  waiters— for  I  could  not  prevail 
on  her  to  sit  down-  which  she  received  with  a  smile  ; 
yet  took  care  to  give  it,  in  my  presence,  to  a  girl  who 
had  brought  the  child  a  slice  of  bread ;  by  which  I 
perceived  that  she  was  the  mistress  or  daughter  of  the 
house,  and  without  doubt  the  belle  of  the  village. 
There  was,  in  short,  an  appearance  of  cheerful  in- 
dustry, and  of  that  degree  of  comfort  which  shut  out 
misery,  in  all  the  little  hamlets  as  I  approached 
Hamburg,  which  agreeably  surprised  me. 

The  short  jackets  which  the  women  wear  here,  as 
well  as  in  France,  are  not  only  more  becoming  to 
the  person,  but  much  better  calculated  for  women 
who  have  rustic  or  household  employments  than  the 
long  gowns  worn  in  England,  dangling  in  the  dirt. 

All  the  inns  on  the  road  were  better  than  I  expected, 
though  the  softness  of  the  beds  still  harassed  me,  and 
prevented  my  finding  the  rest  I  was  frequently  in 
want  of,  to  enable  me  to  bear  the  fatigue  of  the  next 
day.  The  charges  were  moderate,  and  the  people  very 
civil,  with  a  certain  honest  hilarity  and  independent 
spirit  in  their  manner,  which  almost  made  me  forget 
that  they  were  innkeepers,  a  set  of  men — waiters,  host- 
esses, chambermaids,  &c.,  down  to  the  ostler,  whose 
cunning  servility  in  England  I  think  particularly  dis- 
gusting. 

The  prospect  of  Hamburg  at  a  distance,  as  woll  as 


NORWAY,  AND  DENMARK.  1S1 

the  fine  road  shaded  with  trees,  led  me  to  expect  to 
see  a  much  pleasant  or  city  than  I  found. 

I  was  aware  of  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  lodgings, 
even  at  the  inns,  on  account  of  the  concourse  of 
strangers  at  present  resorting  to  such  a  centrical  situa- 
tion, and  determined  to  go  to  Altona  the  next  day  to 
seek  for  an  abode,  wanting  now  only  rest.  But  even 
for  a  single  night  we  were  sent  from  house  to  house, 
and  found  at  last  a  vacant  room  to  sleep  in,  which 
I  should  have  turned  from  with  disgust  had  there 
been  a  choice. 

I  scarcely  know  anything  that  produces  more  dis- 
agreeable sensations,  I  mean  to  speak  of  the  passing 
cares,  the  recollection  of  which  afterwards  enlivens 
our  enjoyments,  than  those  excited  by  little  disasters  of 
this  kind.  After  a  long  journey,  with  our  eyes  di- 
rected to  some  particular  spot,  to  arrive  and  find 
nothing  as  it  should  be  is  vexatious,  and  sinks  the 
agitated  spirits.  But  I,  who  received  the  cruellest  of 
disappointments  last  spring  in  returning  to  my  home, 
term  such  as  these  emphatically  passing  cares.  Know 
you  of  what  materials  some  hearts  are  made  ?  I  play 
the  child,  and  weep  at  the  recollection — for  the  grief 
is  still  fresh  that  stunned  as  well  as  wounded  me — yet 
never  did  drops  of  anguish  like  these  bedew  the 
cheeks  of  infantine  innocence — and  why  should  they 
mine,  that  never  was  stained  by  a  blush  of  guilt  ?  In- 
nocent and  credulous  as  a  child,  why  have  I  not  the 
same  happy  thoughtlessness  ?  Adieu  ! 


182  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 


LETTER    XXIII. 

I  MIGHT  have  spared  myself  the  disagreeable  feelings 
I  experienced  the  first  night  of  my  arrival  at  Hamburg, 
leaving  the  open  air  to  be  shut  up  in  noise  and  dirt, 
had  I  gone  immediately  to  Altona,  where  a  lodging 
had  been  prepared  for  me  by  a  gentleman  from  whom 
I  received  many  civilities  during  my  journey.  I 
wished  to  have  travelled  in  company  with  him  from 
Copenhagen,  because  I  found  him  intelligent  and 
friendly,  but  business  obliged  him  to  hurry  forward, 
and  I  wrote  to  him  on  the  subject  of  accommodations 
as  soon  as  I  was  informed  of  the  difficulties  I  might 
have  to  encounter  to  house  myself  and  brat. 

It  is  but  a  short  and  pleasant  walk  from  Hamburg 
to  Altona,  under  the  shade  of  several  rows  of  trees, 
and  this  walk  is  the  more  agreeable  after  quitting  the 
rough  pavement  of  either  place. 

Hamburg  is  an  ill,  close-built  town,  swarming  with 
inhabitants,  and,  from  what  I  could  learn,  like  all  the 
other  free  towns,  governed  in  a  manner  which  bears 
hard  on  the  poor,  whilst  narrowing  the  minds  of  the 
rich  ;  the  character  of  the  man  is  lost  in  the  Hamburger. 
Always  afraid  of  the  encroachments  of  their  Danish 
neighbours,  that  is,  anxiously  apprehensive  of  their 
sharing  the  golden  harvest  of  commerce  with  them,  or 
taking  a  little  of  the  trade  oil'  their  hands — though  they 
have  more  than  they  know  what  to  do  with — they  are 
ever  on  the  watch,  till  their  very  eyes  lose  all  expres- 
sion, excepting  the  prying  glance  of  suspicion. 


NORWAY,   AND   DENMARK.  183 

The  gates  of  Hamburg  are  shut  at  seven  in  the 
winter  and  nine  in  the  summer,  lest  some  strangers, 
who  come  to  traffic  in  Hamburg,  should  prefer  living, 
and  consequently — so  exactly  do  they  calculate — spend 
their  money  out  of  the  walls  of  the  Hamburger's  world. 
Immense  fortunes  have  been  acquired  by  the per-cents. 
arising  from  commissions  nominally  only  two  and  a 
half,  but  mounted  to  eight  or  ten  at  least  by  the  secret 
manoeuvres  of  trade,  not  to  include  the  advantage  of 
purchasing  goods  wholesale  in  common  with  contractors, 
and  that  of  having  so  much  money  left  in  their  hands, 
not  to  play  with,  I  can  assure  you.  Mushroom  fortunes 
have  started  up  during  the  war  ;  the  men,  indeed,  seem 
of  the  species  of  the  fungus,  and  the  insolent  vulgarity 
which  a  sudden  influx  of  wealth  usually  produces  in 
common  minds  is  here  very  conspicuous,  which  con- 
trasts with  the  distresses  of  many  of  the  emigrants, 
"  fallen,  fallen  from  their  high  estate,"  such  are  the  ups 
and  downs  of  fortune's  wheel.  Many  emigrants  have 
met,  with  fortitude,  such  a  total  change  of  circum- 
stances as  scarcely  can  be  paralleled,  retiring  from  a 
palace  to  an  obscure  lodging  with  dignity;  but  the 
greater  number  glide  about,  the  ghosts  of  greatness, 
with  the  Croix  de  St.  Louis  ostentatiously  displayed, 
determined  to  hope,  "  though  heaven  and  earth  their 
wishes  crossed."  Still  good  breeding  points  out  the 
gentleman,  and  sentiments  of  honour  and  delicacy 
appear  the  offspring  of  greatness  of  soul  when  com- 
pared with  the  grovelling  views  of  the  sordid  ac- 
cumulators of  cent,  per  cent. 

Situation  seems  to  be  the  mould  in  which  men's 


184  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

characters  are  formed :  so  much  so,  inferring  from  what 
I  have  lately  seen,  that  I  mean  not  to  be  severe  when  I 
add-  previously  asking  why  priests  are  in  general  cun- 
ning and  statesmen  false  ? — that  men  entirely  devoted 
to  commerce  never  acquire  or  lose  all  taste  and  great- 
ness of  mind.  An  ostentatious  display  of  wealth 
without  elegance,  and  a  greedy  enjoyment  of  pleasure 
without  sentiment,  embrutes  them  till  they  term  all 
virtue  of  an  heroic  cast,  romantic  attempts  at  some- 
thing above  our  nature,  and  anxiety  about  the  welfare 
of  others,  a  search  after  misery  in  which  we  have  no 
concern.  But  you  will  say  that  I  am  growing  bitter, 
perhaps  personal.  Ah!  shall  I  whisper  to  you,  that 
you  yourself  are  strangely  altered  since  you  have 
entered  deeply  into  commerce— more  than  you  are 
aware  of ;  never  allowing  yourself  to  reflect,  and  keep- 
ing your  mind,  or  rather  passions,  in  a  continual  state 
of  agitation  ?  Nature  has  given  you  talents  which  lie 
dormant,  or  are  wasted  in  ignoble  pursuits.  You  will 
rouse  yourself  and  shake  off  the  vile  dust  that  obscures 
you,  or  my  understanding,  as  well  as  my  heart,  deceives 
me  egregiously — only  tell  me  when.  But  to  go  farther 
afield. 

Madame  la  Fayette  left  Altona  the  day  I  arrived,  to 
endeavour,  at  Vienna,  to  obtain  the  enlargement  of  her 
husband,  or  permission  to  share  his  prison.  She  lived 
in  a  lodging  up  two  pairs  of  stairs,  without  a  servant, 
her  two  daughters  cheerfully  assisting ;  choosing,  as 
well  as  herself,  to  descend  to  anything  before  unne- 
cessary obligations.  During  her  prosperity,  and  con- 
sequent idleness,  she  did  not,  I  am  told,  enjoy  a  good 


NORWAY,   AND  DENMARK.  185 

state  of  health,  having  a  train  of  nervous  complaints, 
which,  though  they  have  not  a  name,  unless  the  signi- 
ficant word  ennui  be  borrowed,  had  an  existence  in  the 
higher  French  circles;  but  adversity  and  virtuous 
exertions  put  these  ills  to  flight,  and  dispossessed  her 
of  a  devil  who  deserves  the  appellation  of  legion. 

Madame  Genlis  also  resided  at  Altona  some  time, 
under  an  assumed  name,  witli  many  other  sufferers  of 
less  note  though  higher  rank.  It  is,  iu  fact,  scarcely 
possible  to  stir  out  without  meeting  interesting  coun- 
tenances, every  lineament  of  which  tells  you  that  they 
have  seen  better  days. 

At  Hamburg,  I  was  informed,  a  duke  had  entered 
into  partnership  with  his  cook,  who  becoming  a  traiteur, 
they  were  both  comfortably  supported  by  the  profit 
arising  from  his  industry.  Many  noble  instances  of 
the  attachment  of  servants  to  their  unfortunate  masters 
have  come  to  my  knowledge,  both  here  and  in  France, 
and  touched  my  heart,  the  greatest  delight  of  which  is 
to  discover  human  virtue. 

At  Altona,  a  president  of  one  of  the  ci-devant  par- 
liaments keeps  an  ordinary,  in  the  French  style ;  and 
his  wife  with  cheerful  dignity  submits  to  her  fate, 
though  she  is  arrived  at  an  age  when  people  seldom 
relinquish  their  prejudices.  A  girl  who  waits  there 
brought  a  dozen  dmble  louis  d'or  concealed  in  her 
clothes,  at  the  risk  of  her  life,  from  France,  which  she 
preserves  lest  sickness  or  any  other  distress  should 
overtake  her  mistress,  "who,"  she  observed,  "was  not 
accustomed  to  hardships."  This  house  was  particularly 
recommended  to  me  by  an  acquaintance  of  yours,  tho 


186  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

author  of  the  "  American  Fanner's  Letters."  I  gener- 
ally dine  in  company  with  him  :  and  the  gentleman 
whom  I  have  already  mentioned  is  often  diverted  by 
our  declamations  against  commerce,  when  we  compare 
notes  respecting  the  characteristics  of  the  Hamburgers. 
"Why,  madam,"  said  he  to  me  one  day,  "you  will  not 
meet  with  a  man  who  has  any  calf  to  his  leg ;  body  and 
soul,  muscles  and  heart,  are  equally  shrivelled  up  by  a 
thirst  of  gain.  There  is  nothing  generous  even  in  their 
youthful  passions ;  profit  is  their  only  stimulus,  and 
calculations  the  sole  employment  of  their  faculties, 
unless  we  except  some  gross  animal  gratifications  which, 
snatched  at  spare  moments,  tend  still  more  to  debase 
the  character,  because,  though  touched  by  his  tricking 
wand,  they  have  all  the  arts,  without  ;he  wit,  of  the 
wing-footed  god." 

Perhaps  you  may  also  think  us  too  severe;  but  I 
must  add  that  the  more  I  saw  of  the  manners  of  Ham- 
burg, the  more  was  I  confirmed  in  my  opinion  relative 
to  the  baleful  effect  of  extensive  speculations  on  the 
moral  character.  Men  are  strange  machines ;  and 
their  whole  system  of  morality  is  in  general  held  to- 
gether by  one  grand  principle  which  loses  its  force  the 
moment  they  allow  themselves  to  break  with  impunity 
over  the  bounds  which  secured  their  self-respect.  A 
man  ceases  to  love  humanity,  and  then  individuals,  as 
lie  advances  in  the  chase  after  wealth ;  as  one  clashes 
with  his  interest,  the  other  with  his  pleasures  :  to  busi- 
ness, as  it  is  termed,  everything  must  give  way ;  nay, 
is  sacrificed,  and  all  the  endearing  charities  of  citizen, 
husband,  father,  brother,  become  empty  Dames.  But  — 


NORWAY,  AND  DENMARK.          187 

but  what  !J  Why,  to  snap  the  chain  of  thought,  I  must 
say  farewell.  Cassandra  was  not  the  only  prophetess 
whose  warning  voice  has  been  disregarded.  How  much 
easier  it  is  to  meet  with  love  in  the  world  than  affection  ! 

Yours  sincerely. 


LETTER    XXIV. 

MY  lodgings  at  Altona  are  tolerably  comfortable, 
though  not  in  any  proportion  to  the  price  I  pay ;  but, 
owing  to  the  present  circumstances,  all  the  necessaries 
of  life  are  here  extravagantly  dear.  Considering  it  as 
a  temporary  residence,  the  chief  inconvenience  of  which 
I  am  inclined  to  complain  is  the  rough  streets  that 
must  be  passed  before  Marguerite  and  the  child  can 
reach  a  level  road. 

The  views  of  the  Elbe  in  the  vicinity  of  the  town  are 
pleasant,  particularly  as  the  prospects  here  afford  so 
little  variety.  I  attempted  to  descend,  and  walk 
close  to  the  water's  edge  ;  but  there  was  no  path  ;  and 
the  smell  of  glue,  hanging  to  dry,  an  extensive  manu- 
factory of  which  is  carried  on  close  to  the  beach,  I 
found  extremely  disagreeable.  But  to  commerce 
everything  must  give  way;  profit  and  profit  are  the 
only  speculations — ''double — double,  toil  and  trouble." 
I  have  seldom  entered  a  shady  walk  without  being 
soon  obliged  to  turn  aside  to  make  room  for  the  rope- 
makers  ;  and  the  only  tree  I  have  seen,  that  ap- 
peared to  be  planted  by  the  hand  of  taste,  is  in  the 


188  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

churchyard,  to  shade  the  tomb  of  the  poet  Klopstock's 
wife. 

Most  of  the  merchants  have  country  houses  to  retire 
to  during  the  summer ;  and  many  of  them  are  situated 
on  the  banks  of  the  Elbe,  where  they  have  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  the  packet-boats  arrive — the  periods  of  most 
consequence  to  divide  their  week. 

The  moving  picture,  consisting  of  large  vessels  and 
small  craft,  which  are  continually  changing  their  posi- 
tion with  the  tide,  renders  this  noble  river,  the  vital 
stream  of  Hamburg,  very  interesting ;  and  the  wind- 
ings have  sometimes  a  very  fine  effect,  two  or  three 
turns  being  visible  at  once,  intersecting  the  flat 
meadows ;  a  sudden  bend  often  increasing  the  magni- 
tude of  the  river;  and  the  silvery  expanse,  scarcely 
gliding,  though  bearing  on  its  bosom  so  much  treasure, 
looks  for  a  moment  like  a  tranquil  lake. 

Nothing  can  be  stronger  than  the  contrast  which 
this  flat  country  and  strand  afford,  compared  with  the 
mountains  and  rocky  coast  I  have  lately  dwelt  so 
much  among.  In  fancy  I  return  to  a  favourite  spot, 
whore  I  seemed  to  have  retired  from  man  and  wretched- 
ness ;  but  the  din  of  trade  drags  me  back  to  all  the 
care  I  left  behind,  when  lost  in  sublime  emotions. 
Rocks  aspiring  towards  the  heavens,  and,  as  it  were, 
shutting  out  sorrow,  surrounded  me,  whilst  peace 
appeared  to  steal  along  the  lake  to  calm  my  bosom, 
modulating  the  wind  that  agitated  the  neighbouring 
poplars.  Now  I  hear  only  an  account  of  the  tricks  of 
trade,  or  listen  to  the  distressful  tale  of  some  victim  of 
ambition. 


NORWAY,    AND    DENMARK.  189 

The  hospitality  of  Hamburg  is  confined  to  Sunday 
invitations  to  the  country  houses  I  have  mentioned, 
when  dish  after  dish  smokes  upon  the  board,  and  the 
conversation  ever  flowing  in  the  muddy  channel  of 
business,  it  is  not  easy  to  obtain  any  appropriate  infor- 
mation. Had  I  intended  to  remain  here  some  time,  or 
had  my  mind  been  more  alive  to  general  inquiries,  I 
should  have  endeavoured  to  have  been  introduced  to 
some  characters  not  so  entirely  immersed  in  commercial 
affairs,  though  in  this  whirlpool  of  gain  it  is  not  very 
easy  to  find  any  but  the  wretched  or  supercilious  emi- 
grants, who  are  not  engaged  in  pursuits  which,  in  my 
eyes,  appear  as  dishonourable  as  gambling.  The  in- 
terests of  nations  are  bartered  by  speculating  merchants. 
My  God  !  with  what  sangfroid  artful  trains  of  corrup- 
tion bring  lucrative  commissions  into  particular  hands, 
disregarding  the  relative  situation  of  different  countries, 
and  can  much  common  honesty  be  expected  in  the  dis- 
charge of  trusts  obtained  by  fraud?  But  this  entre 
nous. 

During  my  present  journey,  and  whilst  residing  in 
France,  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  peeping  behind 
the  scenes  of  what  are  vulgarly  termed  great  affairs, 
only  to  discover  the  mean  machinery  which  has  directed 
many  transactions  of  moment.  The  sword  has  been 
merciful,  compared  with  the  depredations  made  on 
human  life  by  contractors  and  by  the  swarm  of  locusts 
who  have  baltened  on  the  pestilence  they  spread  abroad. 
These  men,  like  tho  owners  of  negro  ships,  never  smell  on 
their  money  the  blood  by  which  it  lias  been  gained,  but 
sleep  quittly  in  their  beds,  terming  such  occupations 


190  LETTERS   ON   SWEDEN, 

lawful  callings ;  yet  the  lightning  marks  not  their 
roofs  to  thunder  conviction  on  them  "  and  to  justify 
the  ways  of  God  to  man." 

Why  should  I  weep  for  myself  ?     «'  Take,  O  world  ! 
thy  much  indebted  tear  !  "     Adieu ! 


LETTER    XXY. 

THERE  is  a  pretty  little  French  theatre  at  Altona,  and 
the  actors  are  much  superior  to  those  I  saw  at  Copen- 
hagen. The  theatres  at  Hamburg  are  not  open  yet, 
but  will  very  shortly,  when  the  shutting  of  the  gates 
at  seven  o'clock  forces  the  citizens  to  quit  their  country 
houses.  But,  respecting  Hamburg,  I  shall  not  be 
able  to  obtain  much  more  information,  as  I  have  de- 
termined to  sail  with  the  first  fair  wind  for  England. 

The  presence  of  the  French  army  would  have  ren- 
dered my  intended  tour  through  Germany,  in  my  way 
to  Switzerland,  almost  impracticable,  had  not  the  ad- 
vancing season  obliged  me  to  alter  my  plan.  Besides, 
though  Switzerland  is  the  country  which  for  several 
years  I  have  been  particularly  desirous  to  visit,  I  do  not 
feel  inclined  to  ramble  any  farther  this  year ;  nay,  I 
am  weary  of  changing  the  scene,  and  quitting  people 
and  places  the  moment  they  begin  to  interest  me. 
This  also  is  vanity ! 

DOVER. 

I  left  this  letter  unfinished,  as  I  was  hurried  on 
board,  and  now  I  have  only  to  tell  you  that,  at  tlio 


NORWAY,   AND  DENMARK.  191 

sight  of  Dover  cliffs,  I  wondered  how  anybody  could 
term  them  grand ;  they  appear  so  insignificant  to  me, 
after  those  I  had  seen  in  Sweden  and  Norway. 

Adieu !  My  spirit  of  observation  seems  to  be  fled, 
and  I  have  been  wandering  round  this  dirty  place, 
literally  speaking,  to  kill  time,  though  the  thoughts  I 
would  fain  fly  from  lie  too  close  to  my  heart  to  be 
easily  shook  off,  or  even  beguiled,  by  any  employment, 
except  that  of  preparing  for  my  journey  to  London. 
God  bless  you  !  MARY . 


APPENDIX. 

PRIVATE  business  and  cares  have  frequently  so 
absorbed  me  as  to  prevent  my  obtaining  all  the  in- 
formation during  this  journey  which  the  novelty  of 
the  scenes  would  have  afforded,  had  my  attention  been 
continually  awake  to  inquiry.  This  insensibility  to 
present  objects  I  have  often  had  occasion  to  lament 
since  I  have  been  preparing  these  letters  for  the  press  ; 
but,  as  a  person  of  any  thought  naturally  considers  the 
history  of  a  strange  country  to  contrast  the  former 
with  the  present  state  of  its  manners,  a  conviction  of 
the  increasing  knowledge  and  happiness  of  the  king- 
doms I  passed  through  was  perpetually  the  result  of 
my  comparative  reflections. 

The  poverty  of  the  poor  in  Sweden  renders  the 
civilisation  very  partial,  and  slavery  has  retarded  the 
improvement  of  every  class  in  Denmark,  yet  both  are 
advancing;  and  the  gigantic  evils  of  despotism  and 


192  LETTERS  ON  SWEDEN,    NORWAY,    ETC. 

anarchy  have  in  a  great  measure  vanished  before  the 
meliorating  manners  of  Europe.  Innumerable  evils 
still  remain,  it  is  true,  to  afflict  the  humane  investigator, 
and  hurry  the  benevolent  reformer  into  a  labyrinth  of 
error,  who  aims  at  destroying  prejudices  quickly  which 
only  time  can  root  out,  as  the  public  opinion  becomes 
subject  to  reason. 

An  ardent  affection  for  the  human  race  makes  en- 
thusiastic characters  eager  to  produce  alteration  in 
laws  and  governments  prematurely.  To  render  them 
useful  and  permanent,  they  must  be  the  growth  of  each 
particular  soil,  and  the  gradual  fruit  of  the  ripening 
understanding  of  the  nation,  matured  by  time,  not 
forced  by  au  unnatural  fermentation.  And,  to  con- 
vince me  that  such  a  change  is  gaining  ground  with 
accelerating  pace,  the  view  I  have  had  of  society 
during  my  northern  journey  would  have  been  sufficient 
had  I  not  previously  considered  the  grand  causes  \vlii c.\\ 
combine  to  carry  mankind  forward  and  diminish  the 
sum  of  human  misery. 


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35.  The  North- West  Passage       RICHARD  HAKLUYT. 

36.  The  Sorrows  of  Werter         ..        ..       ••  GOETHE. 

37.  Lives  of  Poets  (Butler,  Denham,  Dryden,  &c.)  SAMUEL  JOHNSON. 

38.  Nathan  the  Wise LESSING. 

39.  Grace  Abounding  ~       ..     '  M       ~       -  JOHN  BUNYAN. 

40.  Macbeth          WM.  SHAKESPEARE. 

41.  The  Diary  of  Samuel  Pepys  (1662—1663). 

42.  Earlier  Poems         ALEXANDER  POPR 

43-  Early  Australian  Voyages JOHN  PINKERTON. 

44.  The  Bravo  of  Venice M.  G.  LEWIS. 

Lives  of  Demetrius,  Mark  Antony,  &c.  ..  PLUTARCH. 

Peter  Plymley's  Letters,  &c SYDNEY  SMITH. 

47-  Travels  in  England  in  1782 C.  P.  MORITZ. 

48.  Undine,  and  The  Two  Captains     ..        ..  LA  MOTTB  FOUQUS. 

49.  Confessions  of  an  Inquiring  Spirit,  &c.  S.  T.  COLERIDGE. 

50.  As  You  Like  It        WM.  SHAKESP,-ARE 

51.  A  Journey  to  the  Hebrides         ..        ..  SAMUEL  JOHNSON. 

52.  A  Christmas  Carol,  and  The  Chimes       ..  CHARLES  DICKENS. 

53.  The  Christian  Year         JOHN  K.KHLE. 

54.  Wanderings  in  South  America     ..        ..  CHARLES  WATER  TON. 

55.  The  Life  of  Lord  Herbert  of  Cherbury. 

56.  The  Hunchback,  and  The  Love-Chase  ..  J.  SHERIDAN  KNOWLHS>. 

57.  Crotchet  Castle       ..       ..       ~        ..        ..  THOMAS  LOVE  PEACOCK. 

58.  Lives  of  Pericles,  Fabius  Maximus,  &c.  .  PLUTARCH. 

59.  Lays  of  Ancient  Rome,  &c LORD  MACAULAY. 

60.  Sermons  on  Evil-Speaking    ..       .-       ..  ISAAC  BARROW,  D.U. 

61.  The  Diary  of  Samuel  Pepys  (1663—1664). 

62.  The  Tempest -.       ..  WM.  SHAKESHKARE. 

63.  Rosalind          THOMAS  Lom.u. 

64.  Isaac  Bickerstaff    ..       STEELE  and  A UUISON. 

65.  Gebir,  and  Count  Julian          W.  S.  LANDOR. 

66.  The  Earl  of  Chatham      LORD  MACAULAY. 

67.  The  Discovery  of  Guiana,  &c SIR  WALTER  RAT. HIGH. 

68  &  69.  Natural  History  of  Selborne.    2vols.  REV.  GILBERT  WHITE, 

70.  The  Angel  in  the  House          COVENTRY  PATMORK. 

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71.  Trips  to  the  Moon  LUCIAN. 

72.  Cato  the  Younger,  Agis,  Cleomenes,  &c.  .    PLUTARCH. 

73.  Julius  Caesar  ..       M      M       *.*...    WM.  SHAKESPEARE. 
74-  The  Diary  of  Samuel  Pepys  (1664—1665). 

75.  An  Essay  on  Man,  and  other  Poems       ..    ALEXANDER  POPE. 

76.  A  Tour  in  Ireland.— 1776— 1779       ..       ..    ARTHUR  YOUNG. 
77*78.  Knickerbocker's  Hist.of N.York.  a  vols.    WASH  INGTON  I  RVING. 

79.  A  Midsummer-Night's  Dream        ..       ..  WM.  SHAKESPEARE. 

80.  The  Banquet  of  Plato,  and  other  Pieces  PERCY  BYSSHE  SHELLEY. 

81.  A  Voyage  to  Lisbon        HENRY  FIHLDING. 

82.  My  Beautiful  Lady,  &c.           ..        —        ..  THOMAS  WOOLNER. 
83*84.  Travels  in  Interior  of  Africa,   a  vols.  MUNGO  PARK. 

85-  The  Temple GEORGE  HERBERT. 

86.  The  Diary  of  Samuel  Pepyo  (Jan.  to  Oct.,  1666). 

87.  King  Henry  VIII WM.  SHAKESPEARE. 

88.  An  Essay  on  the  Sublime  and  Beautiful    EDMUND  BURKE. 

89.  Lives  of  Timoleon,  Paulus  -ffimilius,  &c.    PLUTARCH. 

90.  Endymion,  and  other  Poems         ..       ..    JOHN  KEATS. 

9*.  A  Voyage  to  Abyssinia          FATHER  JEROME  LOBO. 

92.  Sintram  and  his  Companions,  &c.  ..        ..LA  MOTTE  FOUQUE. 

93.  Human  Nature,  and  other  Sermons     ..    BISHOP  BUTLER. 

94.  The  Diary  of  Samuel  Pepys  (Nov.,  1666,  to  May,  1667). 

95.  The  Life  and  Death  of  King  John        ..    WM.  SHAKESPEARE. 

96.  The  History  of  the  Caliph  Vathek        ..    WILLIAM  BECKFORD. 

97.  Poems JOHN  DRYDEN. 

98.  Colloquies  on  Society ROBERT  SOUTHEY. 

99.  Lives  of  Agesilaus,  Pompey,  &  Phocion    PLUTARCH. 

100.  The  Winter's  Tale  WM.  SHAKESPEARE. 

101.  The  Table-Talk  of  John  Selden. 

102.  The  Diary  of  Samuel  Pepys  (June  to  Oct.,  1667). 

'03.  An  Essay  upon  Projects       DANIEL  DEFOE. 

104.  The  Cricket  on  the  Hearth. CHARLES  DICKENS. 

105.  Anecdotes  of  Samuel  Johnson,  LL.D.    ..  HESTHER  LYNCH  Piozzi. 

106.  Prometheus  Unbound PERCY  BYSSHE  SHELLEY. 

107.  Lives  of  Solon,  Publieola,  &c.      .        ..  PLUTARCH. 

108.  King  Lear WM.  SHAKESPEARE. 

109.  Seven  Discourses  on  Art SIR  JOSHUA  REYNOLDS. 

no.  A   History  of  the  Early  Part  of  the 


Keign  of  James  II ..    CHARLES  JAMES  Fox. 

-  -  Diary  of  Samuel  Pepys  (Oct.,  1667,  to  March,  1668). 

ipology  of  the  Church  of  England    JOHN  JEWEL. 
"3- London  in  1731 DON  MANOEL  GONZALES. 


"4- Much  Ado  about  Nothing WM.  SHAKESPEARE. 

"5  &  116.  Sketches  of  Persia.    2  vols.   ..       ..  SIR  JOHN  MALCOLM. 

"7-  The  Shepherds'  Calendar EDMUND  SPENSER. 

118.  The  Black  Death, and  The  Dancing  Mania  J.  F.  C.  HECKER. 

119.  Coriolanus WM.  SHAKESPEARE. 

120.  The  Diary  of  Samuel  Pepys  (March  to  Nov.,  1668). 

121.  Areopagitica,  &o JOHN  MILTON. 

122.  The  Victories  of  Love,  and  other  Poems  COVENTRY  PATMORH. 

123.  Essays  on  Goethe THOMAS  CARLYLE. 

124.  Richard  II WM.  SHAKESPEARE. 

125.  Crito  and  Phsedo PLATO. 

126.  The  Diary  of  Samuel  Pepys  (Nov.  1668,  to  end). 

127.  The  Old  English  Baron        CLARA  REEVE. 

128.  King  Henry  IV.  (Part  1)      WM.  SHAKESPEARE. 

129.  Lives  of  Pyrrhus,  Camillus,  &c PLUTARCH. 

130.  Essays  and  Tales JOSEPH  ADDISON. 

131.  Lives  of  Addison,  Savape,  and  Swift     ..  SAMUEL  JOHNSON. 

132.  King  Henry  IV.  (Part  2)        WM.  SHAKESPEARE. 

133.  Essays  and  Tales RICHARD  STEELE. 

134.  Marmion        SIR  WALTER  SCOTT. 

135.  The  Existence  of  God  ..        ..  ..  FENELON. 

1361  S^e  M1rry,  Wives  of  Windsor   ..       ..  WM.  SHAKESPEARE. 

137.  The  Schoolmaster         ROGER  ASCHAM. 

138.  Lives  of  Dion.  Brutus,  Artaxerxes,  &c.  PLUTARCH. 

139.  Tour  through  the  Eastern  Counties   ..  DANIEL  DEFOE, 

140.  King  Henry  V WM.  SHAKESPEARE. 

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THE 

Secret  of 

A  Tale  of  Thibet    ; 

"The  incidents  of  the  story  am  of  a  kind 
so  unusual  that  they  -will  be  fresh  ©yen  to  the 
most  industrious  reader  of  novel 

POST. 


of 

are  brought  into  play,  and  other  far  more 
astounding  :  mysteries  .attend  the%eroV  ex- 
^^  among  the  fitr^e  people  ^0 
hun  into  the  supreme  secrets  of 


scenes  are 

described  with  a  realistic  vigour  reminding 
us  of  Bi<te  Ha^r^i,^here  is  an  undercurrent 
ot  natural  love  flowing  through  tk^  afor-  • 

DAILV  •Cw.ftoNicLK,  ^      ,;.  '    "' 

"It  certainly  is  a  remarkable  and  clever 
Dook,  —GLASGOW  HERALD. 

"Will  excite  even  the  most  jaded  reader 

Of  novels.^TiMES  OF  JNDJA, 

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